Director's notes for SWEENEY TODD

FROM THE FIRESTONE THEATRE PLAYBILL:

On the surface, SWEENEY TODD might appear to be simply a gruesome, Gothic freak show. Anyone who has seen the recent motion picture probably thinks SWEENEY TODD is a bloody, horrible mess. Some people might go as far to say that SWEENEY TODD is inappropriate for high school production.

While certainly on the edge of good taste, SWEENEY TODD is a daring piece of musical theatre with which all serious theatre students should become familiar. The musical is cited by many as Stephen Sondheim’s greatest score and by others as perhaps one of the best ever written. For me, the show is alittle like an onion in that we peel away layer after layer and there is always more to discover.

I am pleased to say that we are not the first high school to present SWEENEY TODD but I am even more satisfied that the dozen or more recent productions have generated no discernable controversy. A recent internet search reveals more than 50 American high schools have presented the play in recent years. According to MTI’s website, about 25 schools are contracted to present the play in the next 2 months. This list includes one middle school and several Christian or Catholic schools.

At its heart, SWEENEY TODD is grounded in good old-fashioned melodrama – not too far removed from the guy in the black hat with the handlebar moustache and the ready train tracks. The good and bad characters are clearly defined . . . and the bad characters are very very bad. They are motivated by simple things – Todd: revenge; Lovett: money, Johanna is the simple, beautiful damsel sought as a partner by both good and evil. Anthony is the whistle-clean hero with a pure heart and only the best intentions.

I think there is a lot of humor in SWEENEY TODD and we have tried to emphasize it. There is, of course, a dark humor running though the entire piece. Many comic moments are ironical or sarcastic and may easily slip by if one is not paying close attention. The recent movie mostly wiped these moments away and seemed to concentrate on mood and action. In our production, we instead look to the comedy and the beauty of the score to guide us.

Todd gets his in the end so there is no reason to fret over lessons learned. He pays his price twice; he must reconcile the fact that he has unknowingly killed his own wife and just about when he is done with that he is cut down by a character representing his own lost innocence. It is not a pretty story but it is a good one with important lessons to be learned.