Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street @ A NOISE WITHIN

Production photos by Craig Schwartz.

Terry Morgan – ArtsBeatLA

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd is my favorite musical. Its combination of a beautiful score, clever lyrics and unusually gruesome subject matter is sui generis. When it’s firing on all cylinders, there’s little in the annals of musical theatre to top its sheer power. And yet it’s a difficult show to get just right – its level of complexity and challenge is high. Over the years I’ve seen several versions of the show that have their moments but don’t quite come together. Sadly, the current revival of Todd at A Noise Within falls into this category due to some miscasting and uninspired direction. Read more…
Patrick Chavis – LA Theatre Bites Podcast
7.9 out of 10! Above Average! Feb 11 – March 17, 2024. Listen more… 

Anita W. Harris – LA Theatrix

ANW dramaturg Dr. Miranda Johnson-Haddad rightly notes that the musical’s underlying themes of “social justice, moral corruption, psychological obsession, and trauma cycles” speak loudly to us today. However, ANW’s literal and stark take on “Sweeney Todd” may be more heavy-handed than entertaining, even with Sondheim’s transcendent music. Read more…

Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA

The invitation to “Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd” has always greeted me with some apprehension. Not that I don’t love the eight-time Tony winning Best Musical of 1979—to the contrary, it could arguably be my favorite musical of all time—but because of my adoration for Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s bloody-good groundbreaking achievement, I might be overly critical when others try to recreate its original wonder. Read more…

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