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closeFriday, Nov. 06, 2009
Stephen Sondheim’s 'Sweeney Todd’ visits dark side of human nature
By PUNCH SHAW
Special to dfw.com
Casa Mañana/Carol Pratt
A scene from Sweeney Todd Casa Mañana/Carol Pratt
It is a musical that adds a whole new meaning to the expression "having a bad hair day."
Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which opens a six-day run at Casa Mañana Tuesday, is not a typical piece of musical theater. Rather than relying on singing nuns, large numbers of trombones or corn that grows as high as an elephant’s eye, this show leads with a barber who always takes more than a little off the top.
"This show allows people to go to the dark side — a world they love to peek into," said Norm Lewis, who plays title character Benjamin Barker, a tormented soul who is driven to madness and murder by a series of betrayals. "Audiences are intrigued by that. And they love to be scared. It is very accessible, and I think it is fun."
Fun? Did I mention that the terrible trimmer is also made an unwitting accomplice to cannibalism?
"Surprisingly, it has a lot of humor," said director Gabriel Barre when asked why this show (which won 10 Tonys) seems to have a more enduring appeal than many of Sondheim’s efforts. "It is rare to come upon a piece that is so perfectly engineered in its construction. I never cease to marvel at the work itself."
And Barre, a richly experienced professional who has worked not only on Broadway stages but also in Europe and Asia, feels that beneath its forbidding subject matter, this musical has an important and uplifting moral.
"The message is completely reaffirming in terms of telling us, as a cautionary tale, what not to do," said Barre, who has known fellow-New Yorker Lewis for several years, but who is directing him for the first time. "Revenge cannot be the answer. It will destroy you. That is the story we are telling."
Barre said he likes what Lewis is doing with the title role because he is "a really smart and creative actor who understands what’s going on internally with this character and the source of his rage."
So how does an actor get inside the head of such a demented character?
"It’s different for everybody," said Lewis, who has played this role just once, 10 years ago.
"I had to go to some dark areas in my life, calling up things that have affected me emotionally. Me being a minority, there are some racial things that I have been through. I try to bring those passions to Sweeney. You just kind of pull from those kinds of experiences."
And, like Barre, Lewis feels the quality of Sondheim’s writing is a great help in revealing his character.
"Because Sondheim is so brilliant in the way that he writes the music, if you just follow it, the emotion will flow from you," said Lewis. "That’s what I love about coming back to Sweeney. I am finding nuances I didn’t see before."
Casa Mañana Theatre,
3101 W. Lancaster Ave.,
Fort Worth.
$35-$55
817-332-2272; www.casamanana.org
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