Lafayette Arts HUB plays ‘Sweeney Todd’
Come see the tale of the demon barber on Fleet Street and all of his family affairs with “Sweeney Todd” this weekend and next at the Arts HUB in Lafayette.
As you’re watching the R-rated musical, you can smile, knowing that the family producing it has a far better relationship than the characters do.
The cynical piece about the goings-on at a meat pie shop is put on by director Tracy Warren, musically directed by her son Brandon Warren and acted by the Arts HUB Players, which includes her son Chris Warren.
The mother-son trio have worked together before as a creative team and even more times as cast and crew.
“We both have the same absolute commitment to excellence. He’s not going to stop when it’s good enough, and I’m not going to stop when it’s good enough,” Tracy Warren said.
The musical is set in Victorian England, and explores the dark side of human nature. Suffice to say, the bodies end up piling up.
The entire cast agrees that while they are playing characters who make bad decisions and are a reflection of the worst parts of humanity, they have fun playing extremes. The adrenaline rush of being scared and scaring others brings the show to life.
Tracy Warren believes everyone has the capacity to reach the same level of darkness and depravity as Todd, it all just depends on circumstances. She works to draw the audience into the dark, like telling ghost stories around a campfire, making the audience tense until finally they get a cathartic release.
Theater is a form of escapism, and Sweeney Todd is one of the darker routes, Tracy Warren said. Her son agreed.
“There’s a human fascination with fear, almost a morbid curiosity. And you get to really lean into it here,” Brandon Warren said, “There’s something delightful about that breach of convention.”
Jeremiah Martinez, who plays Sweeney Todd, said he has fun finding the humanity in the character, rather than playing Todd as a straight-forward killer that he becomes. He said Todd’s loyalty to his family ultimately leads to his downfall but the character still is relatable to the audience.
“He heads down a path of revenge blindly, and he can’t see what else is going on around him, which ends up being tragedy,” Martinez said.
Amy Sheff, who plays Mrs. Lovett, said her character is the mastermind of the plot. Sheff said her character leads Todd down a path of violence and death. While Lovett can be manipulative, Sheff also describes her as a “wounded bird” who is nurturing and wants to be loved.
“The dance between the light and the dark, which sometimes happens moment to moment in a scene, can be really challenging and interesting as an actor,”
Sheff said.
Michael Spahn, who plays Tobias Ragg, said his character finds refuge in Lovett as she can be endearing and motherly, even if he is being manipulated by her all the same. However, the same rage that motivates Todd ends up breaking Ragg.
Brandon Warren explained that although the show goes into dark material, the audience is going to have fun, especially with the music. He said it is an honor to bring legendary playwright and musician Stephen Sondheim’s work to local theaters. From a “musical calculus” perspective, Brandon Warren said the music is difficult and it isn’t always “pretty,” since it’s supposed to scare the audience.
“It’s music that challenges you, because you’re not supposed to enjoy listening to it at times, it’s not