What an appropriate show to be presented during one of the most spookiest months of the year: Sweeney Todd weaves a tale of a convict who was exiled, returning home only to find his wife gone and his daughter taken by the local judge who had him convicted. Making fast friends with the woman who runs the pie shop below his former abode, they create a sort of symbiotic relationship where he warms his cold steel with nobodies and she uses their bodies to supplement the shortage of meat due to its high price. A tragedy pockmarked with moments of levity set in 1785s London, Sweeney Todd is a classic entry to dark musicals.

This is a remount for Paper Moon Theatre who previously presented this a couple years back. I sadly was not able to attend that show so I don’t have any comparisons to go off in that regard. This is also my first time in the NAC to see a professional theatre production. I also have to thank Paper Moon Theatre for providing me tickets to this event, as I wouldn’t have been able to. Tickets for the show cost close to $100 and a lot of my review is going to be based around that. The most expensive tickets I’ve seen have been $60, but there have been great promotions recently like industry nights or discount codes or even special pricing for certain groups.

General Direction

It’s clear the overall vision of the show did not receive strong or direct handling in terms of direction, to the point where yes Sweeney has its moment of humour to give us a reprieve from the dark and tortured setting of 1785 London, but when you’re gasping for air to stay alive in the quagmire which is the stagnant blocking of the show: those light moments of laughter became the best parts of the show; albeit, sometimes outright ridiculous and over the top. One of my favourite moments of lightness is the death of Beadle Bamford (Brennan Richardson) who had to run backstage after the drop before performing a triple somersault onstage into just becoming a starfish of a dead body. I definitely laughed more than I should have at that moment, but honestly such an appreciated moment.

The Babs Asper Theatre is a beautiful venue that gives a lot of space for play and there was a moment during the sanitarium escape that the audience area was used, not well, but it was enough change from the lack of movement on stage that it broke me out of the stale stand and talk I saw. I do have to give credit to the ensemble for creating some excellent moments of background action. It added a little texture to each scene they were in and added some much needed life to some scenes.

Choreography

I feel like I say this often, but Sweeney Todd isn’t a dance musical and so choreography isn’t altogether the craziest thing ever, but that doesn’t mean what choreo you have shouldn’t be amazing. That being said, the choreo I did see was disappointing and felt like I was watching Rent, but everyone is washed out by the intense blue lights, especially in “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”.

The one moment of good blocking and choreo that I did witness was during “A Little Priest”. Mrs. Lovett (Joy Mwandemange) and Sweeney Todd (Peter Graves) did an excellent job of having an almost give and take, playful tango during the number. It by far was the best moment in the show and something I wish I saw more throughout the show.

Music Direction

Sabrina Tang does an amazing directing the orchestra for this production, which is no easy feat: Stephen Sondheim utilizes so many tricky and clever moments in his orchestration, which makes it altogether that much more impressive. The problem comes with the vocals of the show for me and I’ll probably mention it a bit more in design, but my biggest problem is the lack of balancing and blending. The group numbers did not feel like a group and especially in “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” precision is important.

Another big moment where the balance and blend just missed the mark entirely was during “Kiss Me”. Anthony Hope (Jesse Nasmith) and Johanna (Carmen Harris) were ill matched as a duet of to be lovers. Jesse has a beautiful and lyrical voice that gives his character a softness to it. Carmen also has a well-honed operatic soprano voice that carries well and really speaks to her character being compared to a song bird. Both voices by themselves are beautiful, but during the duet the strong soprano voice consistently overpowered the tenderness of the duet. If both of them had an operatic tone so as to be on the same level or if both had adopted a softer tone, I feel like it would’ve blended better.

Design

This is where the show both shines and dulls. The set they have is remarkable and allows many ways for the performers to play and be creative with their movement; however, a lot of the action always takes place in imaginary boxes. A notable moment would be during Johanna in Act II. Sweeney has to be confined to his shop for the murder and Johanna is also confined to their tower, but Anthony was confined to downstage center in a spotlight the whole number.

They also suffered greatly from a lot of mic troubles, as with most live theatre, but they seemed to struggle more than normal. Constant hot mics and missed cues, coupled with a problem with balancing volume where a good time all I was listening to was someone breathing heavily. The lighting design was also not my favourite. There were moments of excellence with the usage of spots turned into the audience to mimic police lights trying to find a suspect and moments where strobe-like effects were used to create unease; however, the design for most of the show lacked flavour. Extended washouts in either red or blue where the action can’t really be seen is rather boring. That being said, lighting cues were executed well.

Costumes, Hair, Props, and Makeup

This is another moment where the production shines. The costumes in the show were well procured and helped create the period environment. Gailene Green did an excellent job in making characters’ personalities be well presented in their costume.

Standouts

I can not say how stellar Joy Mwandemange was as Mrs. Lovett. I started to care less about Sweeney and Johanna to the point where I just wanted to know more about Mrs. Lovett. This was definitely her show as every time she appeared, Joy delivered comedy to perfection with her excellent timing and delivery. Coupled that with her angelic voice, Joy truly was the star of this production for me. “By the Sea” isn’t my favourite song from the show, but it definitely topped my list after seeing the ever giddy and hilarious Mrs. Lovett trying to woo Sweeney.

Another shoutout I’d have would definitely be Brennan Richardson. He also did the pre-show announcement and what a character. I definitely did not remember a thing about a Beadle when I last saw Sweeney Todd, but did Brennan really make me notice and remember the character. What an absolute delight of a character played to near perfection with the unhinged humour Brennan brought.

Overall, I think this production was a bit of a mess and felt hobbled together. Most of the problems I have with it are primarily just from the direction of the show. I’m usually a little more understanding of community productions and have a great deal of empathy when it comes to certain circumstances; however, the problem lies within the cost of the ticket. Again, I did not pay for my ticket, but I can’t in good conscience say that the quality of the show that I saw is worth the price point. I feel like I was witnessing more of a workshop and this production could’ve done with a little more time in planning and execution.