Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Summer, 2024
“Masterpiece! 10/10, OCR Recommended!
The Chance Theater’s James Michael McHale brings the gloom and the dastardly creep to the penny dreadfuls looking for a masterful take. It’s a tour de force on the Sondheim classic!
The hours float away. There is not a dull moment in the show, thanks to the excellent pacing and creative movement. Using a dolly to communicate a ship coming into port is brilliant. It’s jam-packed with so many significant creative design decisions.”
“an accomplished and absorbing rendering…carried by directorial surety.
The cast is well employed but not in a pay-attention-to-us way, but, instead, organically. Director James Michael McHale also has a strong bench in play with the various stage designers feeling very simpatico in his vision. This is a cohesive staging: everybody feels to be rowing to McHale’s beat.
The sheer likeability factor at work in Anaheim is high enough that this review might also take 2 hours and 45 minutes to read…”
“Director James Michael McHale’s vision is palpable in every aspect of the show.
Chance Theater’s rendition is a haunting and expertly crafted musical journey that captivates audiences from start to finish. Directed by James Michael McHale, this production unfolds with gripping emotion and razor-sharp wit, offering a thought-provoking and unforgettable theatrical experience.
The production successfully navigates Sondheim’s intricate score and complex narrative, creating moments of both grandeur and intimacy. The production’s relevance is further underscored by McHale’s insightful direction, drawing parallels between the story’s themes of justice and contemporary societal issues.”
“JAMES MICHAEL MCHALE, the show’s ferociously inventive director, has aimed his hypnotic interpretation of this 1979 adaptation at the barbarous child in everyone, the squirming spectator, who wants to have his worst fears confirmed and dispelled in one breath.
Surely no previous production of “Sweeney Todd” has had such a high quotient of truly unsettling horror or stage spectacle…McHale draws you airlessly close to the action, taking a page right out of Peter Weiss’s “Marat/Sade” with classic imagery of madhouses, body snatchers and a world of lost and battered souls.
Director McHale obviously appreciates the cathartic value of make-believe carnage. He also grasps the wondrous multifacetedness of Mr. Sondheim’s most ravishing score — its narrative momentum, its sharply honed wit and its harsh psychological insight.”
“Directed by James Michael Mchale, “Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” slices and dices with phenomenal precision.
The ambitious 9-person cast in this minimalist approach highlights the versatility of each performer. Creative staging and dynamic range provide impactful delivery. Clever choreography bleeds into the audience with suspenseful immersion. A bloody good time is to be had at the Chance Theater. “
“Director James Michael McHale keeps the thriller and dark elements in this new production of Sweeny Todd. The attention to detail is extraordinary and the cast delivers a memorable performance. McHale highlights the romance, danger, and tragedy in a way that keeps the audience engaged the whole time.”
