There’s no place like London, a place where the vermin of the world inhabit it and where men devour men.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. The play was presented by Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group, and it ran from October 11 to October 27 at The Theatre at Solaire Resort & Casino.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street stars Jett Pangan (Sweeney Todd / Benjamin Barker), Lea Salonga (Mrs. Lovett), Andrew Fernando (Judge Turpin), Ima Castro (Lucy Barker / Beggar Woman), Gerald Santos (Anthony Hope), Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante (Johanna), Arman Ferrer (Beadle Bamford), Nyoy Volante (Adolfo Pirelli), Luigi Quesada (Toby), and Dean Rosen (Jonas Fogg), as well as ensemble cast members Steven Conde, Sarah Facuri, Christine Flores, Jep Go, Kevin Guiman, and Emeline Celis Guinid. The musical play was directed by Bobby Garcia with set design by David Gallo, and musical direction by Gerald Salonga along with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. The costumes were designed by Rajo Laurel with hair and makeup design by Leslie Espinosa, lighting design by Aaron Porter, choreography by Cecile Martinez, vocal direction by Manman Angsico, and sound design by Justin Shaw.
The story focuses on a falsely convicted and exiled barber, Sweeney Todd, who returns to London fifteen years later, to deliver his vengeance to those who wronged him. Together with the help of his partner in crime, the bakeshop owner, Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd will cut his way to the corrupt Judge Turpin, one throat after another.
Entering the theater, we were greeted by the odd yet intriguing stage design. The story of Sweeney Todd was set during the Victorian era, yet modern cars can be seen as part of the stage background. In an instant, it had me thinking that they were trying to incorporate this classic story into a more modernized setting, which was somehow true as the play opened with a boombox, Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett entered the stage in a pickup truck, and Adolfo Pirelli appeared riding his motorcycle. But that wasn't the only thing interesting about the stage design. The stage also seemed to be in a chaotic shape that the background, the props, they as if emit an unsettling aura of despair, as Mr. Todd would describe the place, "A hole in the world like a great black pit". The London that can capture the mood of the story.
The play began with flashes of lights from the cast as they wander the stage, opening the show, and transition in singing The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. A dark welcome to the play properly executed.
During the course of the play, there was one element of the show that is being highlighted, the centerpiece prop that served many functions, the red vintage pickup truck. The cast would move it, rotate it, and convert it to various purposes, such as Anthony's sailboat, Mrs. Lovett's bakeshop, Mr. Todd's barber shop, and a mini stage where Pirelli and Todd held a contest. It's amazing how one thing can have many uses.
The element that they failed to capture was Sweeney Todd's ominous chair. The chair was a great part of Todd's sinister scheme, together with his razors that he proclaimed as his "friends". His barber chair was a contraption that would allow his victims to slide down to Mrs. Lovett's cellar after he slits the victim's throat. Instead of this, the victims would just fall off the chair, stand up, and slowly walk towards the oven, as if they were acting a Night of the Living Dead scenario. Rather than received terrified reactions from the audience, the victims' demise received some laughter instead, as the walking dead was unsuitably comical. This disappointed me as well, as I was expecting to find out how they would present the mechanical trap chair in the play, and considering that it appeared in the second act and there was a twenty-minute intermission, I assumed that they were setting it up during the break.
Here's one way that they could have done the chair,
Personally, I think they could have made the chair lean backward, or have the chair rotate facing the away from the audience, so the victims could slide down behind the covers the pick up truck was providing, utilizing that blind spot area.
But lets talk about the cast. Salonga was definitely the star of the show. She exhibited a star power and veteran level performance. She was the definition of amazing with her singing and acting. She truly captured the craziness in Mrs. Lovett, and had me in awe as I watch her on stage.
The madness was definitely present in Pangan's portrayal as Sweeney Todd. I do, however, think that he needed to insert a bit more anger unto his character, if I would compare it to Johnny Depp's portrayal in the 2007 film adaptation, such us when he was singing Epiphany, a song of strong wrath, disgust, revenge, and realization, as well as when he shouted his real name, "Benjamin Barker" before murdering Judge Turpin and ultimately delivering his vengeance, but that's not to say that he didn't do great. He was definitely astonishing and I am pleased with his performance. He is still a rock star and undoubtedly a talented theater actor.
Volante was an audience's favorite. Even though the role of Signor Adolfo Pirellie was brief, he succeeded in amusing and enlivening the audience with his energetic performance and faux-Italian accent, that is why it is understandable that the crowd laughed and cheered for him.
Everyone from the cast was exceptionally astounding. High quality performance, with just some minimal or hardly noticeable mistakes. They showed great professionalism and talent. I was even very much amaze on how consistent they were in delivering their lines and even in singing, remarkably while doing an accent for their respective roles. Everyone worked together impressively. Their cast chemistry was impressive, that the flow of each scene ran smoothly and sensationally.
The original script is magnificent as it is, but there are a few things I would have preferred to see in the play that the film adaptation provided, such as the tragedy of Mr. Fogg's fate as Anthony uttered the line, "I will leave you in the hands of your children" and left him to be beaten to death by the mental patients, instead of being shot by Johanna. And as well as in the film, Sweeney Todd's final words to his beloved daughter was "Forget my face".
Overall, the show was truly spectacular. It had an amazingly stellar cast. The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra was tremendous. And the whole team that worked on this play did an impressive job. I found it difficult to keep myself from singing along with the cast, that even now, the songs are still stuck in my head. They undeniably and without a doubt deserve the round of applause and praise that they had received.
Just make sure that you know what's inside the meat pie that you're eating.
The story focuses on a falsely convicted and exiled barber, Sweeney Todd, who returns to London fifteen years later, to deliver his vengeance to those who wronged him. Together with the help of his partner in crime, the bakeshop owner, Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd will cut his way to the corrupt Judge Turpin, one throat after another.
Entering the theater, we were greeted by the odd yet intriguing stage design. The story of Sweeney Todd was set during the Victorian era, yet modern cars can be seen as part of the stage background. In an instant, it had me thinking that they were trying to incorporate this classic story into a more modernized setting, which was somehow true as the play opened with a boombox, Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett entered the stage in a pickup truck, and Adolfo Pirelli appeared riding his motorcycle. But that wasn't the only thing interesting about the stage design. The stage also seemed to be in a chaotic shape that the background, the props, they as if emit an unsettling aura of despair, as Mr. Todd would describe the place, "A hole in the world like a great black pit". The London that can capture the mood of the story.
The play began with flashes of lights from the cast as they wander the stage, opening the show, and transition in singing The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. A dark welcome to the play properly executed.
During the course of the play, there was one element of the show that is being highlighted, the centerpiece prop that served many functions, the red vintage pickup truck. The cast would move it, rotate it, and convert it to various purposes, such as Anthony's sailboat, Mrs. Lovett's bakeshop, Mr. Todd's barber shop, and a mini stage where Pirelli and Todd held a contest. It's amazing how one thing can have many uses.
The element that they failed to capture was Sweeney Todd's ominous chair. The chair was a great part of Todd's sinister scheme, together with his razors that he proclaimed as his "friends". His barber chair was a contraption that would allow his victims to slide down to Mrs. Lovett's cellar after he slits the victim's throat. Instead of this, the victims would just fall off the chair, stand up, and slowly walk towards the oven, as if they were acting a Night of the Living Dead scenario. Rather than received terrified reactions from the audience, the victims' demise received some laughter instead, as the walking dead was unsuitably comical. This disappointed me as well, as I was expecting to find out how they would present the mechanical trap chair in the play, and considering that it appeared in the second act and there was a twenty-minute intermission, I assumed that they were setting it up during the break.
Here's one way that they could have done the chair,
Personally, I think they could have made the chair lean backward, or have the chair rotate facing the away from the audience, so the victims could slide down behind the covers the pick up truck was providing, utilizing that blind spot area.
But lets talk about the cast. Salonga was definitely the star of the show. She exhibited a star power and veteran level performance. She was the definition of amazing with her singing and acting. She truly captured the craziness in Mrs. Lovett, and had me in awe as I watch her on stage.
The madness was definitely present in Pangan's portrayal as Sweeney Todd. I do, however, think that he needed to insert a bit more anger unto his character, if I would compare it to Johnny Depp's portrayal in the 2007 film adaptation, such us when he was singing Epiphany, a song of strong wrath, disgust, revenge, and realization, as well as when he shouted his real name, "Benjamin Barker" before murdering Judge Turpin and ultimately delivering his vengeance, but that's not to say that he didn't do great. He was definitely astonishing and I am pleased with his performance. He is still a rock star and undoubtedly a talented theater actor.
Volante was an audience's favorite. Even though the role of Signor Adolfo Pirellie was brief, he succeeded in amusing and enlivening the audience with his energetic performance and faux-Italian accent, that is why it is understandable that the crowd laughed and cheered for him.
Everyone from the cast was exceptionally astounding. High quality performance, with just some minimal or hardly noticeable mistakes. They showed great professionalism and talent. I was even very much amaze on how consistent they were in delivering their lines and even in singing, remarkably while doing an accent for their respective roles. Everyone worked together impressively. Their cast chemistry was impressive, that the flow of each scene ran smoothly and sensationally.
The original script is magnificent as it is, but there are a few things I would have preferred to see in the play that the film adaptation provided, such as the tragedy of Mr. Fogg's fate as Anthony uttered the line, "I will leave you in the hands of your children" and left him to be beaten to death by the mental patients, instead of being shot by Johanna. And as well as in the film, Sweeney Todd's final words to his beloved daughter was "Forget my face".
Overall, the show was truly spectacular. It had an amazingly stellar cast. The ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra was tremendous. And the whole team that worked on this play did an impressive job. I found it difficult to keep myself from singing along with the cast, that even now, the songs are still stuck in my head. They undeniably and without a doubt deserve the round of applause and praise that they had received.
Just make sure that you know what's inside the meat pie that you're eating.
The Worst Pies in London
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Thanks Anna Margarita for the ticket.
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