Trinity Rep’s ‘Sweeney Todd’: Macabre Aplenty

PROVIDENCE, RI – Trinity Rep’s “Sweeney Todd,”  long-delayed, is here and those with a taste of the macabre will find plenty to savor.

In 1979, composer Stephen Sondheim (“Into the Woods”) and writer Hugh Wheeler teamed up for a musical adaptation of Sweeney Todd, “the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Sondheim and Wheeler used Christopher Bond’s 1970 play as their source material.

“Sweeney Todd” won the Tony Award for Best Musical and was later made into a 2007 motion picture directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp in the lead role.

Erick Pinnick (“Oliver”) wields a mean razor blade as Todd, who we first see in a prison cell. It turns out Todd is really Benjamin Barker, a London barber unjustly incarcerated for 15 years by the corrupt Judge Turpin (the always outstanding Stephen Thorne). Turpin was infatuated with Todd’s wife Lucy and later raped her.

Todd is freed and returns to the city, consumed with thoughts of revenge. His life is a tragedy and the violence which pours forth from his madness brings him no comfort.

Pinnick conveys the right blend of inner anguish and existential dread for Todd.

However, it is Rachael Warren (“The Inferior Sex”) who walks away with the show in a brilliant comic turn as the gleefully demented baker Mrs. Lovett. Lovett is distraught over a lack of ingredients for her meat pies until she teams up with Todd. Let’s just say Lovett finds a bountiful supply of what’s needed after the barber starts doing away with his clientele.

Warren and Pinnick have wonderful chemistry in their scenes together and soar on the Act One closer, “A Little Priest.” Warren also shines with Lovett’s solo numbers, “By the Sea” and “The Worst Pies in London.”

A subplot features Taavon Gamble (“The Inheritance”) as Anthony Hope, a man in love with Johanna (Rebecca-Anne Whittaker), Todd’s daughter. Turpin has taken custody of Johanna and forbids Hope from seeing her.

Gamble exudes tremendous charisma and shows off some strong vocals (“Johanna”, “Kiss Me, Part One”).

Newcomer Alexander Crespo-Rosario II has some amusing moments as a simpleton named Tobias who works for Todd’s rival barber Pirelli (Kai Thomani Tshikosi).

Director Curt Columbus has assembled a skilled creative team to bring this story to life. The rotating stage was designed by longtime Trinity Rep. vet Eugene Lee. Dawn Chiang’s atmospheric lighting accentuates a mood of moral decay and violent depravity. The musical direction was by Andrew Smithson and choreography by Sharon Jenkins. Shahrzad Mazaheri’s costumes were specific to the period and reflected the characters’ personalities.

“Sweeney Todd” is not a feel-good musical by any means. It’s a bleak and unrelentingly gruesome show about deeply disturbed individuals. Todd is filled with rage and takes the lives of innocent people. There are scenes which will offend the sensibilities of some audience members. More than anything, the story of Sweeney Todd serves as an abject lesson about the futility of revenge.

Despite the gloom and doom, there’s a lot of humor in the show and beautiful singing by the ensemble cast. It makes for an entertaining night at the theater, as long as you don’t mind a little bit of blood and gore.

Sweeney Todd runs through June 25. Trinity Repertory Company. 201 Washington St., Providence, RI. Tickets start at $27 and are available online at trinityrep.com/sweeney or by contacting the ticket office at (401) 351-4242.