Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The Paramount production is a grand-scale stunner, with magisterial voices from both soloists and chorus, a gargantuan set that aptly suggests the fiery hell of Victorian London life, and an orchestra with the power and luster of a full-fledged symphony. And of course there is the Sondheim score, with music that shifts from the most ravishing, aria-like melodies, to the most frenzied patter songs full of blistering, faster-than-the-speed-of-light lyrics. (And really, who but Sondheim could pen a line like "...being careful with your coriander, that's what makes the gravy grander!"?)"
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Among this production's great delights is Jeffrey D. Kmiec's set, a towering steel structure that stretches 40 feet in the air and overwhelms in the most magnificent way. Comprised of catwalks and metal elevator cages stacked one atop the other, it suggests a prison interior. Considering nearly every "Sweeney Todd" character (with a few tragic exceptions) is a criminal, Kmiec's set stands as a striking visual metaphor."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The total production accomplished the proper atmosphere to fuel a scary gruesome musical. The eerie score from Tom Vendafreddo's 19 piece orchestra sounded scarcely powerful. This production will satisfy lovers of Sweeney Todd as well as introduce newbies to Sondheim's work, This Paramount Theatre production is a first-class one equal to the finest touring productions I've seen dating back from the early 1982 national tours. Once more Jim Corti proves that he sure has a handle on how to mount terrific productions of major hits musicals that both have elements of the originals and a fresh take on the subject. That is difficult to accomplish but Corti delivers. His Sweeney Todd is fabulous!"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...I would put this production on my MUST SEE LIST. In other words, find a way, any way to get out to Aurora for this production. From the curtain rising, showing us the set (Jeffrey D. Kmiec has done a three story set that is amazing), we know that we are in for a special evening of theater. The play, with a book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (many say this is by far his greatest musical) is the story of "revenge" as Benjamin Barker, a skilled barber, has returned home after 15 years of being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. In order to gain revenge over the Judge that took him away from his family, he takes on the new persona of "Sweeney Todd" (this role is taken on by Paul-Jordan Jansen, who is as strong a Sweeney as I have ever witnessed)."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...But what if you never had the pleasure of Mrs. Lovett's tasty pies? Never been stirred by the song "Pretty Women" nor marveled at the antithetical construction of "Johanna" nor wondered whether there being "No Place Like London" is a good thing, a bad thing, or both? More important, what if you have no advance sense of the plot, so that when personal grudges become pie-filling, genuine amazement ensues. It's still possible, especially for the young."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Paramount Theatre's opulent production of Stephen Sondhem's grisly masterpiece, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is a flawlessly executed piece of musical theatre on every level of Jeffrey D. Kmiec's frighteningly massive four-story set, awash in red light to begin and red blood by the revenge tale's end."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...If you are lucky enough for this to be your first encounter with this ghoulish tale, you will not be disappointed. If you have seen it before, this production might vie for your top slot."
