Much like a pie, a theatrical production is made up of many ingredients baked together, and when the artisans responsible for those ingredients layer them together with harmonious intention, the result can be delicious. With artistic vision and sharp execution, Great Lakes Theater’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” serves up quite the delicacy.
Based the Christopher Bond adaptation, “Sweeney Todd” is a tale of injustice, obsession and revenge. Relayed with dark humor and melodrama via Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics, Hugh Wheeler’s book and Jonathan Tunick’s orchestrations, the story begins when Benjamin Barker, a barber who, after being exiled by a corrupt judge who lusted after his wife, returns to London. Barker adopts a new alias, Sweeney Todd, and combs his old haunts for any trace of his wife and child. He returns to his old flat, which sat just above Mrs. Lovett’s meat pie shop, only to learn from Mrs. Lovett that after his penal transport, Judge Turpin assaulted Sweeney’s wife, driving her to poison herself with arsenic. Sweeney’s infant daughter, Johanna, was then taken in by the judge as his ward. Incensed, Sweeney sets out for revenge. Mrs. Lovett, who’s always fancied Sweeney, partners with the murderous barber when she discovers that his revenge provides the remedy for her failing shop.
Set in the 19th century and adapted into a musical in 1979, “Sweeney Todd” was imagined as a portrait of the Industrial Revolution, commenting on how the age of factory and machine-driven manufacturing churned out defeated humans stripped of their humanity. In Great Lakes Theater’s version, director Victoria Bussert cooks up an exquisite, steampunk-inspired London. Steampunk, a sub-genre of science and speculative fiction, imagines a retrofuture where Victorian elegance is still in vogue, and technology is designed from steam-powered engineering. Not only is Bussert’s anachronistic artistic vision riveting, but the rebellious, anti-authoritarian counterculture of the steampunk aesthetic bodes well with “Sweeney Todd’s” themes.
The creative team works with impeccable cohesion to bring this lush steampunk vision to life. Three massive cogs loom over Trad A Burns’s set design, which features a raised playing space, heavily-riveted metal and intertwining, pipe-laden filigree adorning the railings and gates. Also responsible for the lighting, Burns douses the stage in atmospheric illumination that feels thick and gritty, thanks to the strategic deployment of theatrical fog and haze.
Below Nick Lynch-Voris’s atypical but attractive hair and wig designs, the players don adventurous makeup: metallic eyeshadow, bold lips and smoky eyes smeared to be reminiscent of soot and grime. They’re outfitted in gorgeous Victorian top hats, coats, corsets and skirts complemented by ample straps and buckles, rivets, fishnets, goggles and a whole lot of leather designed by Tesia Dugan Benson. Even sound designer Patrick John Kiernan’s sound design feeds into the aesthetic, most notably using a steam whistle to emulate chilling screams.
In the titular role is Mark Bedard. With a shaved head, Bedard defies the preconceived notions of Sweeney’s appearance seen in popular adaptations — Johnny Depp’s portrayal in Tim Burton’s 2007 film, for one. The look gives him a clean-cut, no-nonsense brutality that complements Bedard’s intensity. Sweeney has been hardened by life, and Bedard’s portrayal shows it.
Contrasting her adornment of explosive red curls is Jillian Kates as she embodies the wild Mrs. Lovett. Kates is marvelously animated as the zany, eccentric baker, springing about the stage with delightful madcap energy that never fails to draw the eye.
While their murderous means are reprehensible, this Sweeney and Lovett pairing are a delight. Bedard and Kates mesh excellently, with Bedard being the black cat to Kates’s golden retriever. Their chemistry is especially vibrant during the song “A Little Priest,” in which they banter playfully over their new murderous meat pie shop partnership.
As Sweeney schemes over how to execute his revenge on Judge Turpin, played here by a blusterous Matthew Wright, there is trouble brewing in the judge’s household. His ward, Johanna, has fallen in forbidden love with Anthony, the sailor who first brought Sweeney to London. Cast in the role of Johanna is a sweet Ana Lauren Rodriguez, who hits high notes with skill, while Anthony plays a charming Ethan Flanagan. Rodriguez and Flanagan’s characters are downright doe-eyed with love, and, according to their bios, are off the stage, as well.
Adding a healthy dose of humor to the narrative is Sweeney’s rival barber, Adolfo Pirelli, played by a fantastically pompous Sean Patrick Doyle. Pirelli pedals a fix-all elixir to Londoners with the help of his simple-minded assistant, Tobias Ragg, but after Sweeney and Pirelli face off, Tobias becomes embroiled with Mrs. Lovett’s newly booming business. Tate Cinti gives a youthful, endearing performance in the role of Tobias, and the character comes across as cute and sympathetic as a result.
Yet, more noteworthy performances are delivered by Jessie Cope Miller as the manic Beggar Woman, and Ricky Moyer as the imposing servant to Judge Turpin, a Beadle Bamford. The entire company deftly navigates the technically complex, demanding musical score that powers the show, all of which is backed by a wonderful seven-piece ensemble led by music director Matthew Webb.
Unlike Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies, successful theater productions don’t require a secret ingredient, but they do need artisans involved to each contribute towards a cohesive artistic vision. Great Lakes Theater’s cast and creatives have whipped up something special, for “Sweeney Todd” is a feast for the eyes and ears.
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” runs through Nov. 8, 2026, at the Hanna Theatre, 2067 E 14th St, Cleveland. Visit www.greatlakestheater.org or call (216) 241-6000 for tickets, $17-115.
