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You want to treat yourself to a show but naturally you've got a
lot of questions.One: Is there anything out there that tackles dehumanizing
poverty, mass murder, mental illness, cannibalism, rape, revenge,
corruption and delicious homemade pie? Two: Is it a musical? Well,
you my friend are in luck! Sweeney Todd opening at the Eugene O'Neill
Theatre on November 3 is Stephen Sondheim's bone-chilling story
of a London barber who forms a rather cut throat alliance with a
frightenly resourceful owner of a pie shop downstairs. Together
they slice and dice their way through Victorian London in this revival
of the 1979 masterpiece. But where the original production was voluptuous,
this production is austere. No grand sets, no lavish costumes, no
orchestras just ten actors who menace, insinuate, charm and envelop,
accompanying themselves all the while on their own musical instruments.
Who knew that Evita could play the glockenspiel? It's official -
there's nothing that Tony winner Patti LuPone can't do - including
bake a mean pie. On guitar, Michael Cerveris' Sweeney Todd is a
shattering study of rage and desolation. As in all Sondheim musicals,
the wit is lacerating, the melancoly is incandescent, the truth
is timeless. Says Cerveris (who has a Tony of his own for Sondheim's
Assassins). "Temperance and tolerance are being shouted down
in this country. You don't have to look past the front page to see
what revenge leads to and that's the meaning of Sweeney Todd."
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