Since the late 1970s and early ‘80s, audiences around the world have been spellbound by the story and music of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning musical about Victorian era madness and murder will be presented Sept. 6-23 at Rep Stage, the professional theater-in-residence at Howard Community College in Columbia. Jmore spoke recently with Joseph W. Ritsch, the theater’s producing artistic director, about the play. A Long Island, N.Y., native, Ritsch was hired by Rep Stage – now in its 26th season — in 2011 after earning his master of fine arts degree from Towson University.
1. Why “Sweeney Todd”?
As a theater maker, I always ask, “Why this play/musical now?” Sometimes, the answer is, “Just because,” but that was not the case with “Sweeney Todd.” This brilliant Sondheim/Wheeler musical has always been a favorite of mine, and very much on the top of my list to direct.
2. What draws you to this play?
Structurally, I am drawn to the tension in the piece, as it is both epic and intimate, presentational and naturalistic, dark and humorous. I am excited by work that can be successful in its oppositions, but I am also intrigued in how the work vibrates with me in a very modern way. Thematically, the play is about totalitarianism, patriarchy, a struggling working class, diminished empathy and the dire pursuit of righting injustices —Victorian England or present-day United States?
3. How will you make “Sweeney Todd” Rep Stage’s own?
This tension between the present and the past kept resurfacing for me in a very haunting way. This was the major impetus to take Victorian Fleet Street and smash it against the streets of modern East London. So the framework for this production is the back alleys of modern-day East London covered in graffiti with a band of street artists/performers asking the audience to “attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.”
4. The cast?
I wanted to represent a very modern community onstage. So we will see people of different genders, ethnicities and ages. There is no traditional “chorus,” just the eight actors and a musical combo of keyboards, violins and woodwinds. I wanted an intimate version that not only sat well in our theater but also strips things away so an audience can really experience the detail, depth and beauty — as well as the thrill — of this work.
5. What can audiences expect to see?
They’ll find the “Sweeney Todd” they know and love, but it will also feel very much of the here and now.
For information about Rep Stage and “Sweeney Todd,” visit repstage.org.
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