Sweeney Todd

Reviewed By Scott Proudfit for Backstage West

Theater:Landis Auditorium, 4800 Magnolia Ave., Riverside.
Phone:(909) 222-8100
Starts:September 20, 2002
Ends:October 06, 2002
Evenings:Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.

This was my first trip to Performance Riverside, after hearing for a couple of years from my critics about the excellent work it does out there in the Inland Empire. And I must admit this theatre is a real cultural oasis in a desert--and worth the trip. It's as if a Broadway touring company stopped at one of its most undistinguished host towns and decided to put down roots. Landis Auditorium, hidden on the Riverside Community College campus, is a cavernous proscenium house, which due to its size remained only about half full for this production despite a quite large--and mostly older--audience. But no matter how many seats this space holds, this is a production that deserves a full house.

Production standards are impeccable. Andrea Bechert's soaring London set has all the bells and whistles required for this Fleet Street thriller, from the barber chair that disposes of its victims down a trap-door chute to a creative variety of flown-in bridges that give the impression of the Byzantine city by the Thames. Moreover, conductor Richard Stover ably manages a full orchestra of first-rate musicians, perhaps the best I've heard at a SoCal civic light opera. Interestingly, the most impressive behind-the-scenes achievement might be Dorie Couture's sound design. This is a body-miked show--not surprisingly, considering the nuance that must be transmitted through the vast auditorium--but the voices have been properly mixed so that they never overpower the live music, never seem disembodied, and never crackle, whine, or buzz, which even many Broadway show nowadays can't achieve.

The mise-en-scene alone is enough to impress the intrepid L.A. traveler. However, director Calvin Remsberg has also assembled a stellar cast, led by Norman Large as a brooding, twitchy Sweeney and Debbie Prutsman as a gorily gleeful Mrs. Lovett. A better couple of murderers no production could wish for. Particularly impressive is Prutsman's "The Worst Pies in London," one of composer Stephen Sondheim's most tongue-twisting of tunes, delivered flawlessly here and seemingly up to tempo--can't say I've heard it so since the Broadway recording. Large has a huge voice and the sensitivity to deliver perhaps the most schizophrenically moving of Sondheim's soliloquies, "Epiphany."

Also impressive is Roger Befeler's sincere, earnest young lover Anthony. Befeler is all white teeth and coifed hair, the ideal romantic lead. Equally compelling is an imposing Doug Carfrae as the pathetic, scheming Judge Turpin. Kristi Holden wavers a bit as Johanna, splendid vocally in "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" but lacking emotional grounding for this difficult role.

Despite the numerous cast bios thanking the Lord, it's reassuring that Remsberg has not Bowdlerized this Sweeney. It's as bloody and bawdy as it should be. And bravo for that. Here's hoping more Sondheim fans are willing to make the trek to discover what might soon be the best CLO around Los Angeles--well, not exactly "around," but near enough.