A throat-slashing barber who disposes of his victims with the help of an immoral cook and some unusual meat pies might seem more like a police report than the description for a musical.
However, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is just that, and Polytech Alumni Drama will portray that dark side of human nature with some tongue-in-cheek humor this weekend at the Schwartz Center for the Arts.
Director Sharon Crossen said the musical gives its young actors an opportunity to stretch themselves by its very unusualness.
Sweeney Todd is a barber who returns to London after years of exile to discover his wife and daughter have been stolen by Judge Turpin. To get his revenge, he sets up a plan with Mrs. Lovett, who owns a pie shop, to slice the throats of the unsuspecting public while giving them a shave and then bake the bodies into the pies — all in the hopes of getting the judge in his chair.
Crossen got the idea to perform “Sweeney Todd” after she and many of her students, former and current, saw the musical last year at the University of Delaware, and she’s very proud of how it has come together in the six weeks they’ve had to rehearse.
The cast is approximately half alumni and half current Polytech High School students.
The play is supposedly based on fact, which Crossen said piques the interest of everyone.
“This drama is popular with actors and audiences for the same reasons they find Poe, Stephen King, Dean Koontz and others appealing,” she said. “They bring us to the edge emotionally with characters who, often, are not sympathetic and they do that in the context of a dark mood.”
Eric Hamilton, 20, said this is his first title role and “Sweeney Todd” is one of his favorite shows. When he worked nights at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and had downtime he learned the lines so playing the barber was a perfect fit.
“I think it appeals to people like myself that don’t like the campy-ness of Broadway,” he said.
He’s planning on playing Todd with characterization from both the Broadway play and the 2007 Tim Burton movie. Hamilton said he’s using the dark brooding of Johnny Depp from the movie — as well as the crazy hair — and the angry, loudness of George Hearn from the play.
