Porchlight revists Sondheim classic for delectable 'Sweeney Todd'
For Porchlight Music Theatre, reviving "Sweeney Todd" meant filling some pretty big shoes.
Its own.
Ten years ago, the company's laudable production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's gloriously composed, wittily written musical about a vengeful 19th century London barber and his pie maker accomplice earned four Joseph Jefferson Awards, including one for actress Rebecca Finnegan. That show also helped establish Porchlight as one of Chicago's top-tier musical producers.
The current revival shows the company has not rested on its laurels. Fresh, invigorating and inventively staged by Michael Weber, with dance and musical staging by Dina DiCostanzo, "Sweeney" is well acted and impressively sung. Chalk up another triumph for Doug Peck, dean of Chicago music directors, who conducts his quintet from the balcony of Jeffrey D. Kmiec's foreboding set.
Much of the show's success rests with Weber's novel ideas: a prologue that foreshadows Sweeney's carnage, the inventive method for disposing of his victims and the humor served in perfect proportions. A couple of sloppy vocal entrances and fussy set changes opening night didn't lessen the considerable appeal of this production. Much of that appeal rests with the cast, including Kelli Harrington of Downers Grove as the tormented Beggar Woman, and Wheaton's Matthias Austin as Beadle Bamford, a sweet-voiced sadist masquerading as a family man.
But the defining performances come courtesy of David Girolmo - as a barber falsely imprisoned for 15 years who returns home to exact revenge - and Finnegan, reprising her role as resourceful pie shop owner Nellie Lovett.
With her coy smile and fluid morality, Finnegan's funny, flirty Mrs. Lovett is an ideal accomplice. But Finnegan reveals, through her carefully considered performance, the character's heart. We see her disappointment at Sweeney's rejection of her romantic overtures, and her uncharacteristic affection toward the doomed Tobias, played by the winsome Miles Blim, a sweet-sounding Oak Park high school student in an impressive professional debut. And in the lovely duet "Not While I'm Around," Finnegan offers a fleeting glimpse of residual tenderness surviving within Mrs. Lovett's idle conscience.
Equally impressive is Girolmo's emotionally resonant Sweeney. We first meet Sweeney not as the steely-eyed demon wielding his razor, but as a broken man touched by madness and filled with despair. Sweeney's transformation - which Girolmo beautifully expresses in the quietly foreboding "My Friends" - is both chilling and wholly authentic.
Terrific separately, Girolmo and Finnegan are even better together. "A Little Priest," a sly celebration of cannibalism, is a most delectable duet. Watching this rollicking tour-de-force from two of Chicago's finest, it struck me just how good a time they were having and how lucky I was to be along for the ride.
And it made me wonder what Porchlight has in store for its 2024 revival.
"Sweeney Todd"
<span class="stars">... </span><span class="stars">½</span>
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Location:</span> Porchlight Music Theatre Company at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 327-5252 or <a href="http://porchlightmusictheatre.org">porchlightmusictheatre.org</a>
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Showtimes: </span>7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 9. Also 1 p.m. Nov. 6
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Running time:</span> Two hours, 40 minutes with intermission
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Tickets:</span> $39-$45
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Parking: </span>$10 valet or paid street parking available
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Rating: </span>For teens and older, contains violence