'Sweeney Todd' challenges St. Charles singer
Matthew Jones is thrilled — and more than a little intimidated — to be performing for the first time in Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's classic 1979 musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
“I thought I loved ‘Sweeney' until I had to sing him,” Jones says, half joking. “The challenge is learning the notes. Especially the choral music in the show.”
And since Jones is in the ensemble of the show, currently running at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, he sings a lot of choral music.
“Sondheim's lyrics are sooo good, but they are sooo difficult,” Jones continues. But he is not complaining. “The payoff is sooo great, when it all comes together.”
Jones has been singing most of his life.
“I started singing in the fifth grade in Lincoln Elementary School,” he explains. “We were doing ‘Peter Pan' and the sixth-graders were away for one rehearsal. My teacher asked, ‘Who wants to try the solo part?' My friend pushed me out. There were a number of us singing, but after we started singing she made everyone else sit down. Then she kept me back after school.”
Jones was sure he was in trouble. But his teacher told him he had talent as a singer, and encouraged him to begin taking lessons. He did and has been singing ever since.
He appeared in many shows at St. Charles High School and, after graduating in 1984, went on to study classical music and opera on a scholarship at Northwestern University. After that, he attended Yale for a degree in voice.
Despite his training, Jones did not go into opera. “My voice is not a traditional tenor or a traditional baritone,” Jones notes. “And it is difficult to have a career in opera unless you are in one of those boxes. In musical theater, the lines are not so bold. I am a bari-tenor and a lot of the roles are written for those of us who are neither baritone and tenor.”
Jones has done well for himself as a bari-tenor, performing in the national tour of “The Phantom of the Opera,” its New York production and also in Maury Yeston's 1997 Broadway musical “Titanic.”
Despite finding work in New York, Jones moved back to St. Charles a couple years ago.
“Family brought me back,” he said. “As an actor, my busiest time was the holidays. I missed Christmas and Easter and all the birthdays and all the other important family milestones.”
He also came back to St. Charles to care for his grandmother.
“I was her primary caregiver and I was with her for eight months,” Jones recalls. “We had a ball. We laughed and laughed. It was a gift and a blessing to have that time with my Meme.”
Jones has remained in St. Charles.
“It has been a great thing for me,” he says, adding that he has found opportunities to work and grow in Chicago's vibrant theater scene.
“I have been very fortunate, especially to be cast in this particular show,” Jones said. “Every actor wants to do ‘Sweeney Todd' at some time in their career. And in this production they have found an amazing cast. The show has an amazing sound.”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
<b>Showtimes:</b> 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, 1:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Friday, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday; through Oct. 9
<b>Location: </b>Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 530-0111 or visit drurylaneoakbrook.com.
<b>Tickets: </b>$35-$45, with dinner packages available