Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Clearly, some of that famous Chopin subterranean magic has rubbed off on Kokandy Productions' new take on "Sweeney," resulting in the kind of knockout off-Loop production that restores your faith in what Chicago's small theaters can achieve in an aesthetic of their own original devising."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...But I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a Sweeney Todd that so ruthlessly depicts the darkness and corruption of the world that surrounds us. It’s evident in the opening number: Barber Sweeney Todd (Kevin Webb) returns to London after being falsely imprisoned for decades. He hopes to reunite with his beloved wife Lucy and his daughter, Johanna (Chamaya Moody). He quickly learns his hopes were in vain. Lucy poisoned herself after being raped by Judge Turpin (Christopher Johnson), the same judge that sent Sweeney to prison. The judge took the baby, now a teenager, and plans to wed her."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...The folks over at Kokandy are doing a bang-up job of Sweeney Todd. It’s in the downstairs theater of The Chopin, for starters, a space that is just as scrappy and weird as the musical itself, and it’s hard to imagine a better place for it."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...One of my favorite Sondheim musicals is “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” ( hereafter I will use “Sweeney Todd”). I have witnessed quite a number of productions, but never as a chamber piece. Kokandy Productions, since its onset, has been great at selecting material to convert from large stage to chamber. For those unaware of a Chamber Piece/or musical, it is an intimate production where more imagination on the part of the audience comes into the mix. The actors are close enough to touch and often, a character will sit at a musical instrument and become a part of the band. The audience is not sitting in what we call theater seats, but rather arm chairs and stools and other pieces of furniture one might find in “Grandma’s living room”."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Attend this Tale of Sweeney Todd and be prepared for something new and different, creative and full of new images. Derek Van Barham has assembled for this emotional show a topnotch cast of musical actors, made even better by the contributions of a gifted production team. This unique presentation delivers a magnificent, memorable evening that theatergoers will be talking about for years to come. For those who enjoy their theatre, like their meat pies, skillfully prepared, a little crusty, well-seasoned and bloody rare, this is the perfect production. Audiences will be leaving the Chopin Theatre exclaiming, “God, That’s Good!”"
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...‘Masterful company’ is a major understatement. The casting used by Kokandy Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham (h/h) and Casting Associate Roman Sanchez (h/h) is diverse and inventive, and the ingenious choreography utilizes every inch of the limited space. I already mentioned the carousel stage…. I guess that makes it Theatre in the Round-and-Round, yeah?"
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Sweeney Todd doesn't work without its pitch-black humor, and I don't know if Jackson could ever suppress that side of her, and thank that dark and hungry god she doesn't. Her Mrs. Lovett-glassy-eyed yet turbulent, wicked yet sexy, and above all done with the perfect illusion of effortlessness-might be the creation of the fall season. Webb's Sweeney, meanwhile, if a bit of a cold brew-one that emphasizes his ultimate impotence and naïvete-is still a twitchy unholy terror, especially as he sings so rapturously while racking up a body count. He and Christopher Johnson's Judge Turpin just go to show that the storefront bass-baritone is a perilously endangered species."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street remains a crowd pleaser. There’s something about watching a man torn apart by grief enjoy the temporary pleasure of revenge only to see his evil deeds catch up with him…it’s more comeuppance than most bad guys get in the real world, at least. And the production couldn’t be better timed: add this to your Halloween in Chicago to-do list."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Kokandy Productions is one of my favorite companies for interpreting musicals in small spaces on a low budget, and Sweeney Todd is one of the best musicals ever. It is usually dependent on big sets (the barber chair to bakehouse slides practically scream for multiple levels), though Theo Ubique did it several years ago in its old cafe location, effectively incorporating the audience into the production. All of this made me extremely excited to see what this clever company—their summer production of Cruel Intentions the Musical is one of my favorite shows of this year—could do with Stephen Sondheim’s iconic musical in its confining basement space at Chopin Theatre."
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...This is the kind of storefront theater that has always set Chicago apart from New York and the West End. Productions may not have the budgets, sets and space, but ambitious, storefront theater productions often succeed in thrilling theater. And that is exactly what is delivered in bloody spades in director Derick Van Barham's hands. With every compromise that has been made due to the limitations of the theater space, budget and the production's spartan set design by G "Max" Maxin IV, Van Barham has met each challenge with a abundant creativity. Less truly is more in this case."
