John Doyle has taken Sweeney Todd, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, as adapted by Christopher Bond, and transformed it into a fully expressionistic, awe-inspiring production that may be the most exciting show now on Broadway. Doyle, who directed and designed the event, takes us, with marvelous stylization and amazing musical arrangements by Sarah Travis, into another dimension of theater. With Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris as the leads (she with her fabulous voice, he with his powerful baritone and sense of menace), aided and abetted by a top-notch ten member cast including Mark Jacoby (a proper villain), the non-stop visuals, inspired use of set pieces and the lighting by Richard G. Jones, the production is all breathtaking. Its non-literalness takes us beyond the horror of the murders into a strange universe we have never seen before.
All the actors on the stage play multiple musical instruments that comprise the orchestra, and Doyle's innovations are nothing less than thrilling. LuPone's sense of physical mischief is the dessert to this splendid theatrical feast.
