This play was a lot darker than I expected, there wasn’t a single moral lesson or redeeming feeling at the end. I thought that at least Johanna and Anthony would have a happy ending together, but they just disappeared and became irrelevant. It is slightly twisted, but the only possible feeling of justice is cold sweet vengeance when Sweeney Todd finally kills the Judge. I am curious what such an intense feeling of revenge is like, is it more satisfying than uhh chocolate…? Sweeney Todd suffered wrongly for years, and the man at fault for his suffering, Judge Turpin steals his daughter as well. It was clear that Sweeney Todd’s sole purpose became to get revenge on Judge Turpin by killing him, which he finally does. When I get revenge on a sibling or friend for making me angry or upset, it is one of the most satisfying feelings. Revenge to the degree of Sweeney Todd must be the most powerful emotion in the world.
Acting wise, Mrs. Lovett was incredible. Her movements reminded me of Johnny Depp. She was definitely crazy, but a fun whimsical crazy that makes the audience fall in love with the character. Sweeney Todd great job of being pure evil. His face was always grimacing and he had a dark tone to his voice. My favorite interaction between Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney was their waltzing. It was an evil jerky waltz that fit really well. Tobias Ragg played the role of a juxtaposition perfectly. He was an innocent pure kid with a soft voice and blissful demeanor.
Everything seemed to be about being crazy. Every character turns crazy by the end. Sweeney and Mrs.Lovett as murderers, Judge Tobin who wants to marry his adopted daughter, Johanna spends time in the insane asylum, the crazy homeless lady is one of the major characters, Tobias goes insane from all the death, there seemed to be no end to the madness. The extras did a great job being very expressive and lively. I would often watch the extras just to see their facial expressions. The extras were very jerky which fit the crazy theme.
Musically I appreciated all the harmonies between characters. Moreso than any other musical I have ever seen, Sweeney Todd is filled with songs where multiple characters sing their own parts in harmony. This is extremely hard to coordinate, so props to all the actors.
