“Sweeney Todd” Production to Revel in Sondheim’s Grittiness, Gore

It would be easy to make the antics of the macabre musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street cartoonish in terms of its gore and melodrama.

After all, the iconic 1979 musical with words and music by Stephen Sondheim centers on a murderous barber bent on revenge—one who acts as judge, jury and executioner of his victims. The musical, set in 19th-century London, features a title character drawn from Victorian penny dreadfuls who turns his victims into literal fodder for meat pies.

Plenty of directors have made the choice to push the dark drama to almost farcical levels—including Harold Prince who directed the original, 1979 Broadway production. In Prince’s conception, characters stepped out of the brutal onstage action of the piece, offering asides and shifting the dynamic toward the gruesome comedy of caricature.

CU Boulder Associate Teaching Professor of Musical Theatre Robert Westenberg doesn’t want to take that approach for the production of Sweeney Todd that will run in Macky Auditorium in October. Westenberg, an accomplished performer and educator who’s directing the production, is intent on drawing on the gritty reality of the setting, the premise and the characters to find the show’s full impact.

“I think the show should stay connected and grounded the entire time. The songs, the scenes, the scope—I think that all needs to be deeply, humanly motivated and entirely believable,” Westenberg maintains. “We mean what we say and we say what we do. I love the bloody, macabre, thickness of the plot. The stakes are high and we never step outside of that.”

Plenty of artistic experience undergirds Westenberg’s creative decisions. His credits speak for themselves—from his Tony Award-nominated role in the original production of Into the Woods on Broadway to his stint replacing Mandy Patinken in the title role of Sunday In the Park with George. An impressive roster of national tours, film and television credits also make up his substantial resume.

Now dedicated to teaching, Westenberg is excited to bring his insights to bear on Sweeney Todd—a production he calls “a great show for the university level.” With a doubled cast that includes graduate students, Westenberg marvels at the artists he has on hand to bring his vision to life: “That speaks very highly of the College of Music program and the depth of talent here.”

The performers will have the chance to benefit from Westenberg’s years of experience on stage and film as well as the insights gleaned from a personal friendship with Stephen Sondheim.

“I worked with Stephen and I got to know him very well,” Westenberg says. “It’s going to be fun to bring that inside track to Steve and Steve’s mind to the students, to offer perspective on what he thought and what he expected with certain moments and characterizations.

“I think that’s going to be a joyful experience,” he adds.

The CU Boulder Eklund Opera and Musical Theatre programs present Sweeney Todd Oct. 23-25 at Macky Auditorium.