SweeneyTodd swings his razor for four weeks at Players by the Sea
SweeneyTodd swings his razor for four weeks at Players by the Sea
SweeneyTodd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Book by Hugh Wheeler Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Lee Hamby
Musical Director, Samuel Clein
September 5,6,7,12,13,18,19,20,25,26,27 at 8pm September 11,14,21 at 2:00pm
The 2008-2009 Mainstage Season opens with our most ambitious production ever! Recent blockbuster openersThe Pirates of Penzance and Cabaret set the bar high. In the wake of the
successful film starring Johnny Depp and the electrifying 2005 Broadway revival, SweeneyTodd was #1 on the wish list of local musical theatre-lovers.
When Lee Hamby signed on to direct, Sweeney was a done deal! Lee’s big voice and over-the-top talent made him an audience favorite in The Pirates of Penzance, Seussical (at Theatre Jacksonville), Bat Boy and many more. He directed and performed in the Cole Porter revue Red Hot and Cole, as well as directing Rogers & Hammerstein charmer, A Grand Night for Singing. His career began while still a student at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
and has gone on to include more than 25 shows at the Alhambra, most recently a show-stopping King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as professional credits in U.S. and international tours, regional theatres and theme parks. Vengeance and murder aren’t usual themes for musical comedy, but Stephen Sondheim’s dark and beautiful tale was hailed as a masterpiece when it opened on Broadway in 1973 and fascination with the Demon Barber of Fleet Street has never faded. Unjustly convicted and transported, the embittered SweeneyTodd escapes and returns
to London, seeking revenge against evil JudgeTurpin who stole Todd’s beautiful young wife and daughter. Aided by sly Mrs. Lovett, the proprietor of a dismal shop that turns out the worst pies in London, Todd resumes his trade. His razors become tools of retribution against a corrupt society and coincidentally furnish Mrs. Lovett with a plentiful supply of tasty ingredients for her pies.
Music Director Samuel Clein may not look alcohol-legal yet, but he’s a young man who has impressed local theatre pros with his mastery of Sondheim’s complex music and his ability to work with all-star talent. He’s busily commuting from St. Augustine to keep up a demanding rehearsal schedule and Matthew Jay Campbell* appears in the tour de force leading role, with Dana Branch as Mrs. Lovett. Both come to Players by the Sea with rich voices and acting skills honed in long list of professional musical productions. Local favorite and perennial award winner
Josh Waller (Bat Boy, The Pirates of Penzance, Cabaret) plays Anthony, the young sailor who befriends Todd and falls in love with the ethereal Johanna, not knowing that she is Todd’s daughter. Erin Nicole Long, fresh from her charming turn as Fiona in Orange Park’s Brigadoon, plays the long-lost Johanna, who is virtually imprisoned as Judge Turpin’s ward.
Versatile Bill Ratliff takes on the role of the morally-twisted judge, Todd’s nemesis. His dramatic chops won him a Pelican Award for The Lion in Winter and his comic fearlessness won him another as the dancing Dad in Bat Boy. The grandiloquent rival barber Pirelli is played byAaron Marshall, who sang memorably in Cabaret and was the Music Director for Blues in the Night. Chris Robertson is featured as Pirelli’s down-trodden assistant, the urchin Tobias. The Judge’s slimy sidekick Beadle Bamford is played by Jeff Wells. AmyAllen Farmer, fresh from Blues in
the Night, sings the haunting role of the Beggar Woman, whose shadowy presence holds the key to Sweeney’s past. Amy is an award winner and audience favorite for her work in The Pirates of Penzance, And the World Goes Round, and Red Hot and Cole. The ensemble includes a glorious array of some of the area’s best voices: Gary Baker, Andy Cecil, Erin Gawera, Luke Hopper, Miranda Lawson, Aaron Marshall, Brad May, Karl Rogers, BonnyTennant, Bill White, Kellie Wyatt.
Tracy Olin, whose award-winning performance as Sally Bowles wowed us in Cabaret, shows off another tal-ent as Costume Designer, creating the elegant and bedraggled looks of high-born and low-down London. Kate Dial is Stage Manager for this large and complex production.
Anticipating sold-out houses, SweeneyTodd is scheduled for an extended run of four weeks, beginning September 5. Thursday evening performances have been added to accommodate demand, in addition to our usual Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday matinees. Now is the time to renew your Players by the Sea season membership, if you haven’t done so already. Upgrading to Angel or Guardian levels gives you the added benefit of reserved seating.
For reservations call 249 0289 or click here for online reservations.
