Carolee Carmello and Norm Lewis in Sweeney Todd
The terrific, pint-sized, meat pie & mash production of Sweeney Todd that opened on Barrow Street three months ago has gotten terrificker, to coin a nongrammatical but pretty much accurate adjective. The tasty musical thriller by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, staged by Bill Buckhurst in a grandly intimate manner, is altogether enhanced by the presence of a pair of strong-singing Broadway vets as the razor-swinging barber and that all-too-accommodating purveyor of “shepherd’s pie peppered with actual shepherd.”
This is the production that originated at Harrington’s Pie & Mash in Tooting, when producer Rachel Edwards asked the proprietors whether she could use the facilities after hours for an onsite theatrical. The Tooting Sweeney was enthusiastically received, resulting in a quick trip to the West End and this trans-Atlantic transplant. The Barrow Street Theatre—which has proven fluidly adaptable for such diverse attractions as David Cromer’s Our Town and Annie Baker’s The Flick—has now been reconfigured for meat pies, with theatergoers seated at narrow tables suitable for pre-show dining (and in-show stomping by the performers).
The originating cast was headed by two Brits. Jeremy Secomb was perfectly fine in the title role; he seemed more of an actor than singer, yes, but in a 160-seat house this worked perfectly well. Now, the producers have favored us with Norm Lewis (of Porgy and Bess and the original Side Show) who is properly sepulchral as Todd. He has the look and demeanor of an antihero who has crawled out of the grave, sure; but the man sings, too. Hitherto impressive in any number of roles, the Lewis voice adds resonance to the role and complements Sondheim’s masterful writing.
Norm Lewis in Sweeney Todd
The slight weakness of the production when it opened, for me, was the Lovett; good enough, but lacking the glazed insanity that need lurk near the surface of the character. Carolee Carmello, of Parade and Scandalous, shows us how it should be done! She gets myriad laughs as Nellie, including a few which I don’t recall other actors discovering. She scampers through the show like a 19th century Olive Oyl; but underlying it is the moonstruck desire for the nonresponsive barber. In Carmello’s hands, “By the Sea” is a song of almost desperate seduction.
Brad Oscar is still on hand as the finest Beadle we’ve come across. Watching his performance again, I realize it is not only his Beadle that registers; everything Oscar does—and everyone except the stars fills in as ensemble in this eight-actor, three-musician affair—is vibrant and authentic. Also remaining is the strong and convincing Anthony of Matt Doyle. The knockout orchestra (music director Matt Aument, violinist Tomoko Akaboshi and clarinettist Michael Breaux) put on a show of their own. It is to the credit of the composer that his most exhilarating score works perfectly fine, even when played by a relatively mere trio.
Carolee Carmello in Sweeney Todd
The other replacements do fine. They do not yet display the flair of the earlier cast, perhaps; but that is of minor note. The ministrations of Lewis and Carmello make the current Sweeney even more delectable than when it opened. Complete with savory meat pies and stout.
Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd opened March 1, 2017 and continues until December 31 at the Barrow Street Theatre