Review Roundup: Critics Attend the Tale of SWEENEY TODD at Asolo Repertory Theatre

SWEENEY TODD opened on May 1 at Asolo Repertory Theatre and is running through June 1, 2019.

Winner of eight Tony® Awards including Best Musical, this dark and twisted tale of love, murder and revenge in 19th Century London has shocked and delighted audiences worldwide for four decades. Unjustly imprisoned for 15 years, barber Sweeney Todd returns to 19th century London to take his revenge on the man who took him from his wife and young daughter. His need for vengeance becomes murderous-and profitable-when he partners with the unscrupulous Mrs. Lovett and opens his new barber practice above her failing meat pie shop. With his busy straight razors and her new secret ingredient, their fame grows until Todd comes face to face with the judge. In a stunning new production by Theatre Latte Da of Minneapolis (Ragtime, 2018), this thrilling theatrical treat is Sondheim at his very best.

For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.asolorep.org/events/detail/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Jay Handelman, Herald Tribune: The fine cast also includes David Darrow as Mrs. Lovett's young assistant, Tobias, who offers to protect her no matter what in "Not While I'm Around"; Evan Tyler Wilson as a rival barber; Colin Anderson as the oily Beadle; Sara Ochs as a Beggar Woman who makes you care for her; Benjamin Dutcher as an insane asylum owner; and James Ramlet, who uses a strong and deep voice to convey the power and authority of Judge Turpin.

Marty Fugate, YourObserver: Ramlet's Judge Turpin could've walked out of a John Tenniel illustration. He's an odious, rolling tower of ruling class entitlement. Anderson delivers an equally vile characterization as the evil judge's deadly flunky. Sara Ochs is gripping as a piteous mad woman who roams the streets begging for alms. Her character's constantly popping up at the worst possible moment like some vengeful spirit. David Darrow's crowd-pleasing Toby is a high-spirited, naïve orphan who'd find a happy life in a Charles Dickens novel. He doesn't in Sondheim's musical. Perry Sherman and Elizabeth Hawkinson are sweetly sympathetic as a loving young couple. They somehow beat the odds and make it out of Fleet Street alive.

Kay Kipling, Sarasota Magazine: The voices of Hawkinson and Sherman combine beautifully on some of Sondheim's more romantic duets, and Evan Tyler Wilson (wearing an appropriately clownish costume by Alice Louise Frederickson) scores fine comic moments as competing barber Pirelli. David Darrow is older than the boy Tobias, whom Mrs. Lovett takes under her wing, is sometimes played, but you can clearly see the damaged child inside, and his number with her, "Not While I'm Around," is a highlight.