Swing Your Razor Wide!

The origins of the character Sweeney Todd stretch back as far as the eye can see: a speculative history which frames the original character as an entity closer to some sort of cryptozoological mystery creature than a barber. Nevertheless, Sweeney Todd remains a long-enjoyed face of stage performance and as such his menace lives on through musicals, movies and plays alike.

The demon barber was brought to life before my eyes at the Cottage Theatre on April 9 during a rendition of the 1979 Sondheim-Wheeler musical adaptation. Cottage Grove’s bone-chilling performance of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street didn’t just linger in my mind for the next few days; it was all I could think about. With the words “attend the tale of Sweeney Todd” bouncing around in my brain, I was constantly reminded of the precision with which the musical had been directed and performed.



Don Kelley threw down a maniacal performance, offering multiple crowd members (included my bearded self) the most terrifying proposed shave of their lives, while supporting cast members Karen Snyder (Mrs. Lovett), Ken McClintock (the Beadle) and Paul von Rotz (Judge Turpin) saw that the hilarity, horror and heart of the tale never faded. Nick Forrest’s performance as Tobias Ragg took the cake for me, though; his singing was delightful, his accent blazed with Cockney enthusiasm, and his ability to create chemistry with each of his colleagues became a show stealer.

The Cottage Theatre’s foundation of community volunteerism stands at the core of shows such as this, and upon arriving with this in mind I turned to my fellow spectator and divulged that I was not expecting much from the evening.

I stand entirely corrected. Bravo, Cottage Theatre.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street runs from now until May 1 at the Cottage Theater in Cottage Grove; info and tickets at www.cottagetheatre.org

EW 4/14