Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Tooting Arts Club) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (798)
See it if If you like what the story is about. It does an effective job with its staging , a very good effort and performance.
Don't see it if You must like the story of the Barber, kinda like you must like Mack the knife in 3 penny, otherwise it will be a long evening for you.
See it if Blown away! Norm, Carmelo and cast amazing. Staging was brilliant. Perfect immersion.
Don't see it if Go see it... pay for the best seats. It makes it and it's worth it.
See it if Powerful immersive staging. Terrific acting and musicianship. An intense, memorable experience that stays with you.
Don't see it if You won't enjoy a dark dark show with frightening moments, or you don't like Sondheim's music. Not for kids.
See it if you enjoy opera-like high pitched singing. The use of the space is ingenious. The performers are enthusiastic.
Don't see it if you do not know the story. The performers need to work on their diction.
See it if immersive stripped-down production and fierce portrayal of the murderous Sweeney make this scariest/most visceral version of show I've seen
Don't see it if doesn't have majesty and polish of fully-staged productions; underlying anti-social Darwinism message hidden beneath horror show
See it if you want to see an inventive, lively, powerful staging of a Sondheim masterwork in an intimate (if slightly gimmicky) theatre-cum-pie shop.
Don't see it if you can't abide the very dark themes, vengeful characters & on-stage violence. [But just see it... and get the "best pies in the Village".] Read more
See it if you want to be part of the play. Very interaction with the audience. Great story, a lot of fun.
Don't see it if Acting on tables sometimes sitting with the audience. Read more
See it if you like immersive theatre and being up close and personal with the action. This is an inventive staging of the classic Sondheim hit.
Don't see it if you're uncomfortable with actors in your personal space, or don't care for Sondheim or stories about grizzly murders.
Critic Reviews (56)
"Delivers on its ingenious, if limited, objective...This 'Sweeney' may raise your pulse rate....Yet unlike almost every previous 'Sweeney' I’ve seen, this one rarely penetrates your heart and mind. What we’re presented with is a self-contained, darkness-steeped spook house. And as with many amusement park entertainments, the jolts it elicits leave few aftershocks...It allows you to squeeze your partner’s arm in delighted anxiety, without paying the price of insomnia to come."
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"Sondheim and Wheeler’s killer-cannibal musical cuts a fine figure with a mostly new cast...In the title role, Norm Lewis is glum in repose but comes scarily alive when prowling through the audience, and Carolee Carmello is a vicious, hilarious marvel as his amoral and clingy accomplice, Mrs. Lovett. Even if you've seen 'Sweeney' many times already, Carmello makes it worth revisiting: She's giving a meaty, delicously human star performance."
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“This high-concept staging is a bloody wonder…Bill Buckhurst and a hugely talented cast make this site-specific 'Sweeney' seem as natural as pie and mash…In this claustrophobic environment, the horror and madness is palpable…The sonic joys of Sondheim’s richly woven score and the Grand Guignol shocks of this primal tragedy are almost unbearably intense...This thrilling, overwhelming 'Sweeney' is a full-course meal: hot from the oven and dripping blood."
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"The gimmick, and the close quarters it entails, make this the most frightening 'Sweeney Todd' I’ve seen...The director Bill Buckhurst frequently has his cast bellowing in a space that doesn’t require it. It’s very effective, if at a cost to beauty...The score is a marvel of ingenious counterprogramming. That’s what makes the thrills thrill. The new production unfortunately flattens some of these effects...Still, when a production gets more than halfway there, it’s plenty. This one does."
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“Sondheim’s mid-career masterpiece…‘Sweeney Todd’ is filled with so much wonder that, especially when you have a cast and a director as talented as those involved in this London import, it can temporarily erase the memory of the cynicism or knowingness that informs so many other current productions..The actors perform without mugging. Their characterizations are organic, and they open Sondheim’s brilliant lyrics up to a new freshness: their interpretations are those of actors, not stars.”
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“As a concept, it holds together remarkably well…All these clashing sentiments burn bright in an accomplished ensemble combining London holdovers with newcomers…The urgency and immediacy of its storytelling make it a terrific introduction to a glittering musical by a composer at the peak of his powers, and also an invigorating new spin for audiences who know and love this brilliantly conceived Victorian nightmare.”
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“The Tooting Arts Club’s production has infused the murder-filled Stephen Sondheim show with even more infectious and thrilling energy than typical…Secomb’s Todd is perfectly menacing…Sondheim’s music and lyrics fit beautifully into the small space…Ultimately, 'Sweeney Todd' is a tricky show. Sure, it’s about a dark, depraved, and murderous man…But it’s also meant to be a comedy…The Tooting Arts Club nails it. Theatergoers should count on having a bloody good time.”
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"The voices of the cast are uniformly robust. Secomb’s piercing glare and growling baritone give the demon barber the kind of sex appeal that makes mincemeat of a lusty lady like Mrs. Lovett...This tight-knit company, some of whom have been with the show since it originated in Tooting, also has a flair for the show’s undercurrents of black humor...All in all, this cheerily gory show is great family fun — if your family happens to be the Munsters."
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