It doesn’t seem to matter if you are seeing Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd for the first or, like me, the sixth time, it remains a spellbinder. Certainly the gasps of approval that filled the reconfigured Barrow Street Theater in Greenwich Village will attest to the musical’s ability to shock. Most audible was the scream from my companion in her too-close-for-comfort encounter with that infamous barber. But perhaps the shock value is heightened because the theater has been turned into a ye olde pie shop and where the audience is given the option to dine on meat (or chicken) pies and mash before the performance. It’s a gimmick to be sure and yet another venture into trendy immersive theater. But this production by London’s Totting arts Club also reaches the heights of horror that some other productions rarely achieve. The director Bill Buckhurst abetted by his two terrific leads and an excellent supporting cast knows how to keep their audience (seated at long tables that are cleared of food before the performance) shivering with delight. No table or bench or aisle is safe from the performers who are literally at your side or in your face for much of the action. Less invasive (not complaining) is the modest setting created by designer Simon Kenny that effectively suggests the streets of London, a pie shop, and a stairway to the barber’s loft. Based on the old English horror story “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” with a book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, Sweeney Todd is a prime example of classical Grand-Guignol-styled theater. It’s the eerie tale of a London barber who goes bonkers after escaping from an unjust imprisonment imposed by a lecherous judge with a covetous eye for the barber’s wife and daughter. Todd (Jeremy Secomb) is a revenge-seeking character who does a bit of slicing while his culinary associate Mrs. Lovett (Siobhan McCarthy) does the dicing in this delectably unwholesome story of an unholy partnership. Don’t be concerned that Sondheim’s grandiose score is now being played by only three musicians (piano, violin, and clarinet), the effectively reduced orchestration/arrangements still fill our senses with haunting musical treats. As the title character, Secomb looks down on us with the most menacing eyes you may ever have to encounter in real life, while his fine baritone voice does more than bring full justice to the score. McCarthy is a bubbly Mrs. Lovett and while delectably wicked, she is more gregarious than grotesque, in keeping with the generally high-spirited tone of the blood-curdling episodes. Amidst the mayhem we get a breather rooting for the young lovers Anthony (Matt Doyle), a sailor and Johanna (Alex Finke) Todd’s daughter, whose wholesome ardor is contrasted against the grimy apprentice Tobias (Joseph Taylor), a vulgar beggar woman (Betsy Morgan, who doubles as the black-mailing barber Adolpho), the lecherous Judge Turpin (Duncan Smith), and the unctuous “Beadle” (Brad Oscar), all of whom have their hair-raising moments in a splendid production that will undoubtedly leave you craving for another helping of meat pie and mash. As for those pies, they are pricey at $20, but very tasty, indeed. But, you do have to order them in advance with your tickets. Also be aware that an American cast featuring Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello takes over the pie shop April 11. Let’s assume that the new cast will be as yummy as the pies. Oh right, it’s Passover. Ask for a side of matzoh.
