Well-Executed “Sweeney Todd”

Macabre musical plays and slays at the Ahmanson through April 6

Billed as a ‘musical thriller,’ ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,’ now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center through April 6, is not exactly bloodless, but the source material by Stephen Sondheim (‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,’ ‘Company’) could use a little more comedic bite. The timing could not have worked out better for this production of ‘Sweeney,’ directed by John Doyle. The musical-comedy arrives in L.A. after garnering Tonys on Broadway, and it rides into town hot on the heels of last winter’s Tim Burton film version, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, which was nominated for three Academy Awards and which won an Oscar for Art Direction. Even the poster art for Ahmanson’s ‘Sweeney’ evokes that Burton-esque aesthetic. ‘Sweeney’ runs in the same macabre vein of the twisted Frank Capra-directed black comedy, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace.’ A good alternate title for this morbid little musical may have been ‘Meat Me on Fleet Street. In the turn-o’-the-century London-set ‘Sweeney,’ the central joke here is that the eponymous Sweeney Todd (David Hess)–essentially, Jack the Barber–and his pushy, enterprising lady friend, Mrs. Lovett (Judy Kaye), decide to boost their fortunes during a tough economy by selling delicious meat pies’made out of their customers. Newly released from a 15-year prison sentence on trumped-up charges by a Judge Turpin (Keith Buterbaugh), whom he blames for original love Lucy’s suicide, Todd decides to exact revenge on his oppressor. Complications, as usual, ensue. So does the black humor. One musical number finds Todd singing about his reunion with his friend”a razor blade. If there is a reason to drive Downtown and see this show, it’s Kaye. She can deliver both show tunes and punchlines out to the balcony seats. Kaye has real physical presence, conveying the necessary mix of silliness and sex appeal with her Rubenesque form that such a role requires. The single set used throughout ‘Sweeney’ is simple and functional, if not flashy, which is probably a good thing, as the show should ebb and flow on the merits of its talented cast, and not be overwhelmed by a ‘Lion King’-sized spectacle. Squeamish viewers, fear not! There is no real gore in this version, and the inevitable barber chair throat-slashing sequences are cleverly implied by a flash of red light that bathes the set while a sustained flute high note blows out your ear drums. Still, something is definitely missing from ‘Sweeney.’ There is nothing really wrong with this production, per se. What’s impressive and almost taken for granted is how seamlessly the entire cast plays instruments in the process of telling ‘Sweeney”s savage tale. Unfortunately for this talented group, the material is not the most riveting or involving. The songs””compared to some Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, ‘Grease,’ or ‘Annie”’seem hookless. Lyrically, these ditties can be clever in places. ‘Johanna’ is a nice enough ballad, and the main theme is as catchy as these tunes get. But the rest of the songs, while serviceable, are not memorable. Wordplay and double entendres abound, as the barber’s barbs fly, but to no effect against the wall of delusional love that is the perky, quixotic Lovett. A typical song lyric trade-off: In ‘A Little Priest,’ the cannibalistic couple rattles off which kind of professionals make for the best meat pie filling: Lovett: ‘Rear admiral?’ Todd: ‘Too salty! I prefer general.’ Lovett: ‘With or without his privates?’ ‘Sweeney”s first act takes a while to warm up to what is a great part one climax, while act two”kicking off with Todd and Lovett’s morbid enterprise selling like meat’I mean, hot cakes”fares more consistently. Overall, a good production, but not essential. For fans already sold on the concept, or for Anglophiles looking for a bloody good show, ‘Sweeney’ may be tops. But if the idea of a musical built around the central joke of a barbaric barber making meat pies out of his customers tickles you, see the info below. For tickets, visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org; or call (213) 680-4017.