The play "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" was written in 1973 by Christopher Bond. It was recently adapted by the Mariposa Arts Theatre as a musical and performed at the Orillia Opera House. Innisdale's very own drama teacher, Ms. Brouse, starred in one of the lead roles as Mrs. Lovett. The story of "Sweeney Todd" describes how Benjamin Barker returns to London after fifteen years of transportation on false charges. He goes under the name Sweeney Todd, and soon starts a business with the pie maker, Mrs. Lovett. This business includes Sweeney killing his customers, and Mrs. Lovett using the bodies as ingredients for her pies. Overall, the storyline of "Sweeney Todd" is very funny, yet dark, and the cast of it executed it with flying colours.
The talent of this musical was extremely surprising. Vocally, the results were shocking. Some characters reached notes higher than would have been thought possible, or very deep notes with great clarity. I was especially impressed by Ms. Brouse's singing capabilities. She is an amazing singer that outshone the rest of the cast. The music was catchy and witty, and, as it made up the majority of the play, it left nothing to be desired. Also, the acting was done very well and truly made the audience believe that the actors were their characters.
Furthermore, "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" was thoroughly well done. The costumes were fancy and elaborate, and the sets were intricate and beautifully designed. This musical had me laughing at times and thrilled at others. Its horror aspect combined extremely well with the humour, producing a compelling performance matched by none. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, and greatly look forward to any future projects from the Mariposa Arts Theatre or Ms. Brouse.
