Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...In Rachel Rockwell's thoroughly compelling, gorgeously sung (Roberta Duchak is musical director), and intensely committed new production of the venerable favorite, the designer Kevin Depinet explodes perceptions of this space by putting the action on a discomforting, streetlike diagonal. One end seems to disappear into nowhere, as if Fleet Street were hacking its way through the world. The other seems to tease and taunt the famous Drury Lane chandeliers. The backdrop to this alley, and also the boundary of Bedlam, is a curtain of the heavy plastic flaps that take the place of doors at supermarkets. It's a very striking image — part salon, part abattoir, part poor embittered Sweeney's shards of a heart."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Director-choreographer Rachel Rockwell (whose memorable productions at Drury Lane include “Ragtime” and “Miss Saigon”) clearly has taken her strongest cues for this “Sweeney Todd” from the story’s roots as a 19th century “penny dreadful” —one of many lurid, tabloidlike popular tales, published in serial form, that inspired the show’s book writer, Hugh Wheeler. In fact, there are more surprising laughs here than usual, along with the expected blood-curdling horrors, as Rockwell’s production gives every betrayal and act of cruelty an oddly disconcerting, matter-of-fact quality. The final punch comes from the realization that so many of the characters end up killing or being killed by the person they love most."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...The way McCartney serves up "The Worst Pies in London" is almost enough to make you overlook Gregg Edelman's well-sung but innocuous take on the title role. The miscast Edelman is the show's only misfire, though. Rachel Rockwell's ensemble is musically superb, and subtle projections by Mike Tutaj expand on Kevin Depinet's moody, functional London set."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...If you love Sweeney Todd, do not wait: rush, rush, rush to see this production. If you know Sweeney Todd only from Tim Burton's stylish but woefully misinterpreted film, do not wait: rush to see this production. If you've only seen Sweeney Todd in the opera house, or in the eccentric reduction in which 12 actors played all the roles and musical instruments, or even in Porchlight Music Theatre's intimate staging, then rush to see this production."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...Chicago has hosted some of the best productions of Sweeney Todd ever, from the first national tour with Lansbury and Hearn through LuPone and Hearn at Ravinia, Lyric Opera's 2002 staging with Bryn Terfel, the Doyle-directed tour with Judy Kaye and David Hess, and even Walter Stearns' 2004 Porchlight production. This is another landmark production to add to that list, and even if it dials up the mirth at some expense to the macabre, it's a production closer to the original Hal Prince staging than these others."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Attend this tale of Sweeney Todd, bound to be remembered as this year’s “Ragtime. Like Drury Lane’s past success, it will be the magnificent production either Chicagoans rave about or kick themselves for missing. The stellar cast, including many of Chicago’s strongest musical performers, menacingly stalks the multileveled, blood-red stage, belting out Sondheim’s challenging music and lyrics. Although filled with dark humor, this is not your typical musical comedy. Its dark subject matter and themes of revenge and madness will not appeal to everyone. But for those who enjoy their theatre like their meat pies, skillfully prepared, well-seasoned and bloody rare, this is the production for you."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...Drury Lane’s Sweeney Todd is sure to thrill devotees and newcomers a like. It is as wickedly playful as it is deadly serious. Director Rachel Rockwell triumphantly brings the tragedy, carnage and nightmare to life with exceptional artistry and vision."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Rockwell’s streamlined staging puts the focus on the complex score, with a sparse set that allows the music to create the setting. From the chilling organ notes that open the show to the final “Fleet Street” pause, Sondheim’s score is exquisitely played and sung, and the overall quality of the production overshadows its few flaws."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Highly Recommended
"...And then there’s the other star of any production of Sweeney Todd: the barber chair. Scenic designer Kevin Depinet has developed a trick chair that literally made me gasp when first used. The speed and force with which the actors fall into the pit below (where Mrs. Lovett transforms them into her infamous meat pies) is, simply, shocking. Those actors who play Sweeney’s victims at each performance are brave souls."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Broadway star Gregg Edelman is perfect as this tormented, diabolical barber who was torn from his wife, and unjustifiably banished into prison only to return to find her and their baby daughter gone. His revenge on the particular evil perpetrator/ seducer, Judge Turpin (Kevin Gudahl) expands to include his innocent customers. He shaves them, slits their throats, and then dumps them via his chair/chute into the bakery of Mrs. Lovett to provide the filling for her meat pies. Yes, this is the plot of the story, and —for years —kept me from seeing the play. I was wrong. This masterpiece is a cathartic experience, not to be missed. Here I must give personal thanks to Northwestern University Professor/Director Dominic Missimi, and his recent continuing education course on Sondheim’s works, which enticed all of his students."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...The robust vocal performances under Roberta Duchak's musical direction raise the level of performance in measurable ways. But when you have the caliber of talent that counts Cory Goodrich, Catherine Lord, James Rank and Natalie Ford among your ensemble, that is not surprising. There are numerous standouts among the large Drury Lane cast. The always commanding Kevin Gudahl is as slimy and sanctimonious a Judge Turpin as you could want; George Andrew Wolff an elegantly foppish Beadle; and the hilarious George Keating a hoot and a half as the shyster barber Pirelli."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This is a solid production from start to finish with a superior cast of players, names very recognizable in our theater scene; Heidi Kettenring ( always a pleasure to watch in any role),the always reliable Kevin Gudahl as the nasty Judge Turpin, George Keating as the comical Adolfo Pirelli,George Andrew Wolff as The Beadle,The lovely Emily Rohm as Johanna ( the long lost daughter),William Travis Taylor and a list of the strongest ensembe members we have seen on a local stage. Dare I forget to mention, young Jonah Rawitz as Tobias Ragg. This young man reminds me a lot of young Max Quinlan in his early days and his rendition of “Not While I’m Around” gave me chills. This is a young man destined to have a solid career on the stage."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Marinating in sympathy with the devil, Stephen Sondheim’s cannibalistic potboiler proved that a Broadway musical can tell any damn tale it likes. A barber’s vengeance and a meat-pie maker’s opportunism expose the power of hate over love—and of revenge over reason–in a literally man-eat-man world. Alternately folk opera, Jacobean revenge tragedy, neo-Brechtian protest and penny-dreadful melodrama, this 1979 “musical thriller” is above all an ensemble effort."
