Halloween comes early this year when the national tour of the revival, “Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” makes its Macon premiere at The Grand Opera House, Sunday, Oct. 12. Performances are scheduled for 4 and 7:30 p.m., and tickets range from $43 to $47.
“Sweeney Todd” features the music and lyrics by multiple Tony Award winner Stephen Sondheim, widely acknowledged as the most innovative and influential composer/lyricist in modern-day musical theater. The musical is based on the 19th century legend of an infamous London barber driven to a life of crime after a malevolent judge takes his wife and child from him. Sweeney’s plan for revenge includes a cutthroat partnership with his crafty neighbor Mrs. Lovett—an enterprising businesswoman—who is soon producing the tastiest meat pies in London. Justice is served—along with lush melody, audacious humor and hair-raising excitement.
For nearly two centuries, the legend of Sweeney Todd has put terror in the hearts and minds of young and old alike. The story has been well documented over the years – the Demon Barber has gone from a madman reported in a 19th century newspaper to the macabre murderer in Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece musical. Controversy, however, surrounds whether the tale of the razor-wielding psychopath is grounded in fact, or if Sweeney Todd is nothing more than a bogeyman created by the colorful imaginations of the Georgian London populace.
British director John Doyle, who trained at the University of Georgia in the 1970s, pared down what is largely known as Stephen Sondheim’s picturesque masterpiece with a newly envisioned production. Set in a bleak, run-down psychiatric ward, Doyle minimized the conventional stage spectacle that audiences have come to expect from Sweeney Todd. Doyle begins the show with a young man gazing as someone who has seen the unforgivable. When he sings the opening lyrics, “Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd,” the audience is immediately lured into the intimate and vengeful world of a madman. To date, Doyle’s production has been met with critical and commercial success in London’s West End, Broadway, and now across the United States with its national tour.
At the end of October, audiences will be treated to the innovative show “ScrapArtsMusic,” a raw, adrenaline-laced performance by five athletic musicians using more than 140 invented instruments hand-crafted from industrial scrap and offbeat materials. The touring show hails from Vancouver, Canada, and stops at The Grand for one public show on Thursday, Oct. 30. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $26 and $22 for students or groups. Central Georgia schools have an opportunity to attend a special educational performance on Friday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. Rooted in street performance, jazz and world music traditions, and fueled by the same inexplicable genius that produced projects like “Blue Man Group” and “Stomp,” “ScrapArtsMusic” excites the senses with intricate rhythms, raw energy, athletic choreography and the hottest—and most inventive—reuse of materials on stage today.
Tickets for the remaining shows in The Grand’s 2008-09 season will be available for purchase at an exclusive pre-sale for “Sweeney Todd” patrons on Sunday, Oct. 12. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, Oct. 13. For tickets or more information, call Mercer Ticket Sales at (478) 301-5470 or visit www.TheGrandMacon.com.
