Sweeney Todd is a challenge. The “Demon Barber” lives immortally in the minds of theatre professionals and theatergoers as notoriously difficult, sublimely twisted, macabrely beautiful, and absurdly intricate. When an over-caffeinated young person says “I think we should put up Sweeney!” people immediately think trick chairs, spurting blood, intricate sets, and lots and lots of money. No matter how supportive the “wow, good luck!” – or how immaculate the Angela Lansbury impression – the underlying response is always a variation of “…but how?”
It’s a valid question.
I started with the people. For Sweeney, if one strips away the expectation of spectacle, and any remaining gratuitous hair (ahem Tim Burton), then what is left is all you need: the characters and their voices. When I first arrived at Berklee, small-pond, farm-boy-turned-Tony-wannabe as I was (am), I was immediately inspired, energized, amazed, and absorbed by the blossoming musical theatre community. I knew that we, together, had the ability to bring these characters to life. So, my task was then to figure out how to give these people a new world in which to come alive – one that both showed the material in new relief, and was within our means.
In order to create this world, I focused on my own tendencies towards minimalist (simplest design) and presentational (active imagining) theatre. By removing the expectation of verismo (realism), the show was liberated from the complications of reducing a Hal Prince scale set to one that would fit into a converted silent-movie house. And, by focusing the show more on the reality within the characters minds (i.e. Sweeney sees a razor, so we see a razor), we find ourselves focused even more on the characters themselves – removing the spectacle aspect that is both expensive and (in my opinion) distracting.
I chose to set the story inside a turn-of-the-century insane asylum. Living nightmares
themselves, these asylums were not how we think of mental health today – any and all societal deviants would be remanded here. Though we had our fair share of difficulties with the concept, the overarching themes of captivity and impotency in the show (the uniting of Sondheim’s morality tale of obsession and Wheeler’s commentary on class struggle), along with the bloodied lace trimmings of horror, lent Sweeney to this hypnagogic interpretation. Defining these characters as individuals whose understanding of reality is different from our own allows a new depth of the material, as well as gives permission for presentational staging. By bending Sweeney through the eyes of those outside societal constraints, we were able to enhance the absurdity and grant more freedom to the content and messages of the show, leading to a more vibrant, alive, and alarming take on this classic brought to life by our brilliant and unparalleled cast.
What began as a conversation between two roommates (Joey, this all comes back to you) has grown into a living, breathing, amazing work of art – and a historic achievement for Berklee musical theatre that I am honored to be a part of.
Swing your razor wide,
J.M. Gates
Professional Music - Contemporary Musical Theatre Writing
Company Manager, BMTC
