'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' explores themes of revenge on playhouse stage

MEREDITH — There are musicals filled with sunshine and smiles, such as “Mamma Mia!,” which filled the Winnipesaukee Playhouse to begin the summer season. Yet there’s also darkness in the world, and in the lives of the audience members. That darkness is thrust into the spotlight with “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” which opens Thursday.

“Sweeney Todd” tells a story about a barber who uses the tools of his trade to take revenge — and about how that dark act affects his psyche and subsequent decisions. It’s also a musical that puts the genius of composer Stephen Sondheim on full display.

“The operatic scale of this piece, the tragedy of this piece is something that brings emotions to the surface for the audience that practically nothing else does,” said Timothy L’Ecuyer, artistic director. “And the score lifts that so much, we react to music so much differently than we do to spoken text.

“This play makes me feel things that nothing else does.”

L’Ecuyer, who is directing "Sweeney Todd," added he feels “in the best way, empty,” emotionally, after its conclusion. “There’s an emotional reset.”

L’Ecuyer, who took over this year as artistic director, is overseeing a season designed by his predecessor, Neil Pankhurst, one of the founders of the playhouse.

The professional season Pankhurst assembled started out with titles that brought joy and toe-tapping to the start of the summer: "Mamma Mia!” and “Shout! The Mod Musical.” Then came a mystery, “Murder on the Orient Express,” followed by “Driving Miss Daisy.” With cooler nights hinting at a pending change of season, L’Ecuyer said the heavier nature of “Sweeney Todd” seems appropriate for the next show.

“There have been different notes, and the season has taken a turn. We are headed in a different direction now.”

“Sweeney Todd” is a story that includes violence, carried out with razors, and L’Ecuyer said audience members should be prepared to see such acts portrayed on stage.

Intrinsically human

Though the story is set in London in a past century, L’Ecuyer said the play, first staged in 1979, continues to speak to contemporary audiences.

“There is something truly universal in it that talks about how we treat each other,” he said. “There is something about people that are fuel for one another, serving as a means to an end instead of being treated as a fellow human. There is not enough of anything to go around, and if you get ahead that means that I must fall back.”

The play deals with the changing status of humans, particularly against the rise of industrialization. That question continues to be asked — today it’s in relation to artificial intelligence, L’Ecuyer said. What does it mean to be human, when machines are capable of ever more creative products?

Kelley Davies, who plays Johanna as well as other roles, said that while the cast is “having a ball” with the play, there is also a level of intensity and focus about their work. She said that comes from the level of complexity Sondheim wrote into the score. It’s almost like performing Shakespeare, she said, in that each note is carefully considered and must be honored, because it likely serves multiple purposes.

“The amount of intelligence and sophistication behind the pitches you’re singing,” she said, set the play apart from most other musicals. “There’s only so much really, really good musical writing out there. Also the fact that it’s also this fun, dark story.”

Safety in the darkness

With acts of violence in the script, this production of “Sweeney Todd” employs a combat director to ensure actors are able to portray their roles in such a way that allows them to return to the stage in one piece for the next performance.

This production also utilizes an intimacy director, Kyrie Ellison, who brings the same kinds of concerns to scenes that call for actors to embrace or to kiss. Ellison, who started as an actor, said the work is important so actors can express themselves creatively while also safeguarding the welfare of themselves and their scene partners.

“What I do is facilitate safe spaces for actors and creatives to tell a story and help people to feel confident and in full clarity of what they are being asked to do,” Ellison said.

The goal is for all actors to feel confident in their own safety, even though their characters might be on the chopping block.

Much consideration went into how to depict the violence in the story, L’Ecuyer said. Without revealing any details about their creative choices, he said audiences should expect to see grisly acts.

“There are a thousand ways to tell every story,” L’Ecuyer said. “The value of the piece, at its foundation, takes the form of a revenge tragedy. This character who has had wrongs done to him, seeks revenge. But that takes a toll on you as a human being. So our question is, along that way, what step are we on, and how do the effects help to specifically illustrate that point in his arc?”