The Wausau East End Players will present Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, April 20-22 at the East High Auditorium.
“Sweeney Todd has become a bloody worldwide success since being awarded eight Tony Awards (including Best Musical), for its Broadway premiere and has now been adapted for high school performers in this, Sweeney Todd School Edition,” said Terry Riska, director of Theater at Wausau East High School. “Sondheim’s music and lyrics, along with Hugh Wheeler’s book is a thrilling theatrical treat that has simultaneously shocked, awed and delighted audiences across the world.”
An infamous tale: Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth-century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up … and the carnage has only just begun.
This special School Edition has been masterfully adapted, working directly with Sondheim to retain the dark wit and grand scope of the original work, with a few lyric and key changes to facilitate high school productions.
“The show’s core is a challenging score of epic proportion featuring two unforgettable star turns and some of the most chilling music ever written for the stage, this masterpiece is sure both to thrill and delight audiences,” said Riska.
Approximately 50 students will take part in Sweeney Todd on stage or behind the scenes in a production that features dazzling costumes and set design.
Performances of Sweeney Todd will be held on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 22 at 1 p.m. in the Wausau East High School Auditorium. Ticket prices are $12 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens and may be purchased at the Wausau East High School Business Office during school hours or at the door.
Top photo (l to r): Senior, David Livingston (Sweeney Todd), Senior Sophie Maahs (Mrs. Lovett), and Junior Allison Weaver (Beggar Woman) are part of the Wausau East End Players Cast of Sweeney Todd.
