Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

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Of the four productions of this Sondheim/Wheeler masterpiece that I have seen over the years, this was probably the most musically satisfying. The 26-piece orchestra led by Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton) gives the wonderful score its due and the voices, led by Josh Groban’s (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) velvety baritone, are all a joy to hear. Fears that Groban did not have the gravitas for the role were totally misplaced. His Sweeney is a creditable creation. Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George) finds more humor than menace in the role of Mrs. Lovett. Some of her physical comedy is inspired. Gaten Matarazzo (Dear Evan Hansen) is a top-notch Tobias. Ruthie Ann Miles (The King and I) brings depth to the small but key role of the beggar woman. Maria Bilbao and Jordan Fisher sing the roles of Johanna and Anthony beautifully, but I found their characterization a bit wan. Jamie Jackson, John Rapson and Nicholas Christopher are fine as Judge Turpin, Beadle Bamford and Pirelli respectively. My main disappointment was in the scenic design. Mimi Lien (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) has an arched bridge crossing the stage that serves as a multitude of locations including Sweeney’s barbershop and Judge Turpin’s home. When Sweeney is at work, the bridge location distances him from the audience. There are no props or even a projection to suggest the judge’s home. The production uses Natasha Katz’s (Some Like It Hot) dramatic lighting rather than images to set the locations and the mood. Emilio Sosa’s (Trouble in Mind) costumes are apt; Mrs. Lovett’s wardrobe reflects her improved circumstances as the story unfolds. The choreography by Steven Hoggett (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) features tight unsettling groupings. Director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) keeps things moving smoothly most of the time, but there are a few spots where the narrative seemed rushed or muddy. I found my attention wandering occasionally during the long first act. I had been forewarned to expect an intrusively enthusiastic audience, but that turned out not to be the case. The only distraction was the temperature of the theater; there was a cold draft throughout the play that kept me in my coat. Despite that discomfort, it was an afternoon well spent. I can recommend it warmly. Running time: two hours 45 minutes, including intermission.

Sylvia ***

Twenty years after its debut at Manhattan Theatre Club, A.R. Gurney’s charming but inconsequential play has finally made it to Broadway. It presents the playwright in a much more favorable light than any of the three Gurney plays that Signature recently mounted. Annaleigh Ashford’s performance as the eponymous canine is sheer delight, reason enough to see the show. As Greg, the man with a midlife crisis who is instantly smitten with Sylvia when she plops into his lap in Central Park, Matthew Broderick is the best he has been since “The Producers.” The ever-watchable Julie White strikes all the right notes as Greg’s wife Kate, who does not want a dog to upset their newly-empty nest or her budding career as a teacher bringing Shakespeare to uptown middle school students. Robert Sella is a triple threat as Tom, another dog owner in Central Park; Phyllis, Kate’s friend from Vassar days whose struggle to stay on the wagon is threatened by Sylvia’s enthusiastic attentiveness; and Leslie, the androgynous couple counselor Kate and Greg visit. As Sylvia becomes more entrenched and gets more attention from Greg than his wife does, a showdown looms. I’m sure you can guess the outcome. The play’s conceit is really too slender for a work that runs over two hours, but director Daniel Sullivan does an excellent job of hiding that. The triple casting of Sella is droll, but seems cut from a different cloth than the rest of the play. David Rockwell’s set offer a lovely scene of Central Park with the essentials of a park-view apartment that materialize when needed. Ann Roth’s costumes are excellent; the ones for Sylvia are truly inspired. You may forget the play five minutes after it ends, but you will likely enjoy it while you're watching it. Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission. 

Dogfight ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
The latest entry in the seemingly endless parade of movie to musical adaptations is this production now in previews at Second Stage. The source is a 1991 movie starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor that did not do well at the box office. This dogfight has nothing to do with aerial combat; it is the name of a cruel game played by a group of marines in San Francisco on the night before they ship out for Vietnam in 1963. They pool their money to throw a party at which the guy bringing the ugliest date wins the game and the cash. Their dates are obviously not in on the joke. Eddie Birdlace (Derek Klena) meets Rose (Lindsay Mendez), a waitress in a coffee shop, and invites her to the party. As they say, complications arise. The ensemble cast of 11 is uniformly strong; Josh Segarra as Boland, the lead Marine, and Annaleigh Ashford as Marcie, the prostitute, are standouts. The music and lyrics, jointly credited to Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, are mostly quite good and well-integrated into the book. The first act is tightly knit and satisfying. Alas, Peter Duchan's book loses momentum after intermission and never fully recovers. David Zinn's set design and costumes are admirable. What Christopher Gattelli, this year's "go-to" choreographer, offers is more stylized movement than dancing, but it is nonetheless effective. Joe Mantello's direction, except for the doldrums midway through act two, holds everything together well. I hope they work out the second act problems, because the show has much to offer. Among the many things that it gets right is showing the gap between Vietnam veterans' expectations for their welcome home and the one they actually received. Running time: 2 hours including intermission. Note: Most of the audience was under 35, a refreshing change from the usual.