Reprise! presents a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed by Calvin Remsberg; produced by Marcia Seligson.
Sweeney Todd - Kelsey Grammer
Anthony Hope - Davis Gaines
Beggar Woman - Melissa Manchester
Mrs. Lovett - Christine Baranski
Johanna - Dale Kristien
Tobias Ragg - Neil Patrick Harris
Pirelli - Scott Waara
The Beadle - Roland Rusinek
Judge Turpin - Ken Howard
The Company - Jeff Austin, Bill Carmichael, Nancy Gassner Clayton, John Ganun, Bill Hutton, Linda Kerns, Carol Kline, Norman Large, Phil Meyer, Marnie Mosiman, Jimmy Smagula, 'Nita Whitaker
High-profile casting is sometimes dream casting. And sometimes it isn't. The Reprise! series' gala 20th anniversary performances of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd" at the Ahmanson Theater last weekend had it both ways. Christine Baranski presented an inspired Mrs. Lovett, while Kelsey Grammer gave us a demon barber who fell flat in more ways than one.
Grammer looked the part of the wronged man whose wife was supposedly driven to suicide years before, and now, after a long exile in Australia, has returned to London to seek revenge on the guilty as well as innocent unshaven. With his big, hulking presence and a head made up to resemble Eric Stoltz in "Mask," Grammer appeared ready to devour Hannibal Lecter.
Then he opened his mouth to sing.
After a two-year run on Broadway, Sondheim's unlikely musical about a serial killer and his cannibalistic piemaker accomplice quickly became a staple of smaller opera companies across the country. Although its occasional stretches of dialogue and witty patter songs don't exactly sit well with most opera singers, there are many gorgeous ensembles, duets and arias that do. Several of those numbers involve the character of Sweeney Todd, and in a true act of perversity, Sondheim gave his loveliest music to the very bloodthirsty baritone who does all the killing. He is a demon, but Sweeney used to be a human being before life turned him inside out. His arias are songs of the memory, and they are heartbreakingly gorgeous.
Maybe a little transposition downward would have helped Grammer, but he sang woefully under pitch, struggling vocally throughout the evening. Sheer personality wouldn't cut it here. So much of Sweeney's character is etched in song; the role demands a real singer.
And the musical demands lots of blood. Yet the Ahmanson stage may have been the only place in America that needed more violence. Without beautiful singing and gleeful throat-slitting, Sweeney may as well stay in Oz. Even worse, director Calvin Remsberg staged Sweeney's two encounters with his nemesis, Judge Turpin (Ken Howard), so that both men are standing for "Pretty Women." The teasing suspense of waiting for the judge to get his throat slit while Sweeney shaves away was completely lost. It didn't help that Grammer and Howard, also in poor voice, seemed to be doing a rendition of "Anything You Can Sing I Can Sing Flatter."
Apparently, the amplification system couldn't accommodate a sit-down murder. Eschewing head mikes, the Reprise! production opted for a battery of standing microphones that had the actors moving in a kind of connect-the-dots blocking. Was Sweeney crossing the stage to kill somebody -- or to find an open mike? At some points in the evening, the obstacle course of microphone stands seemed more a threat to life and limb than any prop knife.
Then there was Christine Baranski's Mrs. Lovett, the Lady MacBeth of this whole affair. On Broadway, Angela Lansbury made her a desperate social climber, and later in the run, Dorothy Loudon gave the role an m.o. that ran on pure lust. Baranski hit both those notes and found yet another: The evil of utter stupidity. It's as if Olive Oyl were attempting an impersonation of Tallulah Bankhead. And that was just her singing voice! Baranski produced a comic screech for "The Worst Pies in London" and a lovely mezzo for "Wait" and "By the Sea," an unlikely showstopper.
Another highlight was the Tobias of Neil Patrick Harris ("Doogie Howser"), who delivered a touching, plaintive "Not While I'm Around." A nifty piece of casting made for the reunion of Davis Gaines and Dale Kristien, who've clocked a few hundred performances together in "The Phantom of the Opera." The harsh amplification took its toll on Kristien's high-flying coloratura, but as the young lovers Anthony and Joanna, the duo never lost sight of the roles' comic underpinnings. Melissa Manchester completed the starry casting, as the Beggar Woman with a secret. At the risk of sounding churlish, beggar women aren't supposed to sound this ravishing.
The evening's vocal award, however, went to the Beadle of Roland Rusinek. In arguably the show's most treacherous singing role, he met the demands and then some. Also stunning, the chorus sounded heavenly, especially when called upon to summon up every demon of Fleet Street.
The Reprise! series presents what it calls semi-staged productions. That said, David R. Zyla's costumes looked pretty lavish in their witty outrageousness. The lighting by Tom Ruzika and the scenic design by David Sackeroff were, indeed, minimal. But couldn't someone have cut a hole in the barbershop floor so that the victims, freshly murdered, didn't have to be seen tiptoeing, shoulders hunched, into the wings?
Music direction, Larry Blank, choreography, Kay Cole; scenic design, David Sackeroff; lighting, Tom Ruzika; costumes, David R. Zyla; sound design, Jon Gottlieb and Philip G. Allen. Opened and reviewed March 12, 1999. Closed March 14. Running time: 3 HRS, 10 MINS.
Contact Robert Hofler at
bob.hofler@variety.com