Repertory Philippines' Sweeney Todd

Repertory Philippines’ Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

When I heard that Repertory Philippines was staging Sweeney Todd here, I was very excited. I loved Tim Burton’s 2007 film adaptation, which starred some of my favorite actors (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, and Alan Rickman). So when I found out my old college org, Ateneo Celadon, was getting one of the shows, I didn’t hesitate to get tickets. I was finally able to watch Repertory Philippines’ performance of Sweeney Todd last Saturday. And I have to say, it was pretty darn epic.

Sweeney Todd is the tale of Benjamin Barker, a young barber with a beautiful wife whose life is torn apart by a lustful and jealous Judge Turpin. Falsely charged and imprisoned, Barker returns years later as Sweeney Todd, and is intent on exacting his revenge. He is aided by Mrs. Lovett, a meat pie shop owner, who together with the mad barber, hatch a scheme that channels Todd’s rage into killing his barbershop’s patrons and turning their remains into meat pies, while waiting for another chance to deliver his vengeance against Judge Turpin, and rescue his daughter, Johanna.

My experience of this dark tale has been confined to the movie, but I was very curious about how the original musical went. After all, the special effects and movie sets aren’t available for a theater production. Repertory Philippines was able to tone down the violence inherent in the show’s premise, but masterfully so that it wasn’t really missed. What I was very impressed with was how the sets were utilized to their full potential, moving around onstage and transforming in seconds into the different areas where the story takes place. They also had a working barbershop chair! The costumes, make-up, and lighting were great too - the details on the costumes were great, and every character in the play seemed to have a ghastly pall to their skin, with the scenes where the ensemble sings “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” seemingly straight from a nightmare.

Of course, the most important parts of the musical would be the actors and the music. Repertory brings the entire musical in its entirety, so those who have only watched the movie (like me) will be pleasantly surprised by the other musical numbers and scenes which did not make it to the final cut of the film. Some of the songs are also extended (notably “The Contest” between Mr. Todd and Adolfo Pirelli), providing for more entertainment for the audience. The performance of “A Little Priest,” one of my favorite songs, was also spot-on. The best part of the music for me, though, was the lyrics to opening titles! While the film’s opening credits made do with organ music and the stunning opening sequence, the musical opened with organ music and a performance of The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (absent from the movie, and which quickly became one of my favorite parts of the musical). I didn’t expect that the haunting intro from the film had lyrics, and I loved the company’s performance of it.

Audie Gemora and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo headline the cast of Repertory's Sweeney Todd.

As for the acting, with theater vets Audie Gemora and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, how could you expect anything less than “awesome?” The two leads certainly delivered, and the supporting cast was stellar. I especially loved the performance of Ms. Lauchengco-Yulo as Mrs. Lovett - she had the role down pat, complete with the cockney accent and the whimsical, deranged psyche. The performances of the actors who played Tobias “Toby” Ragg and Anthony Hope were also excellent, and Judge Turpin’s “Pretty Women” was awesome.

For those who have only watched the movie (like me), think of this musical as an extended version of the movie, with more onstage time for the mad beggar woman (and resulting in much more sympathy and tragedy for the story), and with more development of the Anthony/Johanna relationship (well, what’s developed of it, anyway - most of their time is spent with romantic tension and singing “kiss me!”). The ending (also different from the movie) was very creepily satisfying, much more so than the movie’s ending, and I think was pulled off excellently by the cast. If there was anything that the movie did better, it was the performance of “By The Sea” - but, you can’t fault the musical for not having the logistics for the costume and setting changes for that lone scene. Ms. Lauchengco-Yulo was still able to pull off that number excellently though, so not much is lost.

In summary, Repertory’s Sweeney Todd was a very delightful performance of the tale of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The gruesomeness of the schemes of Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett are downplayed by the lack of over-the-top blood and gore, but the tragedy and comedy of the original are ever-present with strong performances from the cast, and great props and costumes that set the stage for an awesome tale. A must-watch for fans of the movie or the musical, or theater in general. So catch a ticket for this weekend’s show, or for next weekend, before they’re sold out!

*****

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 Tony Award–winning musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond.

From the Repertory Philippines site:

Playdates of Repertory Philippines Sweeney Todd (The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) are on November 14 until December 13, 2009 with shows scheduled every Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Saturday and Sunday matinee at 3:30 pm. Performances will be at Onstage, 2nd floor of Greenbelt 1 in Makati City.

For tickets and inquiries, call 887-0710 and 888-0887. You can also log in to www.repertory.ph or call Ticketworld at Tel. No. 891-9999.

Check out ANC Cityscape’s interview with Audie Gemora and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, with a brief preview of them singing “A Little Priest.”