"Sweeney Todd"

Having just seen a full-blown, plushly orchestrated production at Seattle's 5th Avenue, I confess to some leeriness about catching Broadway's newest slant on this famed Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical.

Can a cast of 10 actor-instrumentalists do justice to the epic sweep of a work originally crafted for more than 50 singers and musicians?

Of course not. But like the hit revision of the Fosse musical "Chicago," this streamlined "Sweeney Todd" works on its own upstart terms.

British director-designer John Doyle has framed Sondheim's musical fable of a homicidal London barber, and underscored its grisly ironies, by setting it in a British mental hospital — where it is enacted by brooding patients wielding pails, straitjackets and cellos.

Better not to dwell too much on that contrived concept. No shrink in their right mind would propose Todd's bloody opus as recreational therapy for the psychotic.

As a bold theatrical trope the setting does, however, license some pitch-black humor and go-for-broke performances, starting with Patti LuPone's outré Mrs. Lovett.

LuPone's Mrs. L. is a pungent departure from the usual dotty dowdiness of Todd's eager accomplice. She sports a slippery English accent, a severe flapper hairdo and a jaded, drop-dead bawdiness. And whether tooting on her tuba or slurring through the lyrics of "The Worst Pies in London," LuPone's a deliciously quirky dish.

Michael Cerveris is less of a departure from earlier Todds. But his moody intensity is eerie and blistering. And his majestic bass voice makes a superb conduit for Sondheim's dirges.

Mark Jacoby as the evil Judge Turpin and Alexander Gemignani as his enforcer are also excellent. And it's fun watching the two relay as pianists, while dispatching the pared-down score.

Would I rather hear "Sweeney Todd" mounted with full string section? Sure. But Doyle's approach is a fine novelty, and proof that this is indeed a durable classic which can withstand any number of interpretations.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com