Attend the Tale...

I've seen many productions of Sweeney Todd over the years. Most recently I've seen the Mrs. Lovetts of Christine Baranski, Patti LuPone and, now, Judy Kaye. I've seen recreations of the original production--well the tour at least--small productions by local groups and the Sondheim Festival production. Last year, I saw the John Doyle production with LuPone, and I was blown away. The only negative comment I had at the time was the distraction caused by how overwhelmed I was by the talent onstage. It went something like this: "Oh my god, now he's playing the violin, now he's playing the clarinet, now he's playing the keyboard, and he's singing at the same time. Wait, did Sweeney just kill someone?"

I was thrilled that my first foray into Boston theater was going to be the Sweeney tour, because I wanted to share the experience and relive it. The talent is just as amazing, but the wonder of this production is that it felt fresh and different. Like Chris Caggiano at Everything I Know I learned from Musicals I saw the Todd understudy David Garry. I found the performance to be a compelling one, though undersung. (Someone asked, "Does Sweeney always shout his lines?")

But this is Judy Kaye's Sweeney Todd. She brings a new sensibility to the role, and it has most to do with what I liked about the tour. She gets nice laughs, but different ones than LuPone. Her performance isn't quite as dark, but it makes for a more menacing climax. And when Sweeney is ushering Mrs. Lovett to her death, she's already sensed the inevitability of it in a way that moved me more than other productions.

The other compelling performance in the tour, and almost as responsible for its freshness is Edmund Bagnell in the pivotal role of Tobias. Caggiano is dead on when he notes that Bagnell brings a different but equally compelling performance to that of Manoel Felciano in the Broadway incarnation.

Finally, snaps to John Doyle for direction that remains crisp and illuminating. The sparseness of the orchestrations allow for the lyrics to shine through in wondrous ways. The conceit of having actors and orchestra in one is still fresh and creative.

And at the end of the show I still had to say, "Where do they find such incredible talent?"