SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
October 5, 7:30 p.m.; Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts
Prepare to be enthralled when you join ProMusica Arizona (PMAZ) for Steven Sondheim’s chilling masterpiece of murderous “barber-ism” and culinary crime in this Tony Award-winning musical. Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful pie shop proprietress, have customers clamoring for their mysterious new meat pies, blissfully ignorant of the recipe. Just in time for pre-Halloween jitters, Sweeney Todd is replete with murder, mayhem, humor, and music. It is a production that will leave audiences gasping, laughing, and clapping.
To bring this unique production to life, PMAZ has an exceptional cast of ten guest performers in the lead roles, accompanied by the 70-member orchestra and chorus. AriZoni Award-winning Matt Newhard stars as Sweeney Todd. Since his first venture into the spotlight in 2007, Matt has performed in major musicals in the Phoenix area and won the Zoni Award in 2009 for Best Supporting Actor. The clever, cunning and comedic role of Mrs. Lovett is played by Debra Qualtire, also a Zoni Award winner. No stranger to Valley stages, Debra has appeared at Phoenix Theatre, Theater Works, and Copperstate Theatre. The role of evil Judge Turpin is being played by Kirk Douglas, choral director at Boulder Creek High School; he has performed in the Arizona Broadway Theatre and the Black Theatre Troupe, and recently completed performances in Italy with the Lorenzo Malfatti Accademia Vocale di Lucca.
PMAZ’s production of Sondheim’s musical thriller is choreographed so that the chorus and orchestra are integral parts of the production, with costumes, movement and lighting effects to bring London and the stories of love, loss and revenge to life. According to Executive Director Yvonne Dolby, “The talent for this production is amazing. The soloists, the orchestra, and the chorale are creating a truly memorable concert event. And in the new venue, every seat is a good one to see and hear this outstanding production.”
Don’t miss this sophisticated, macabre musical. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be presented at the Virginia G. Piper Theater at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on October 5 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, priced at $30 and $50, are available at www.pmaz.org, or by calling 480-994-ARTS. Groups of 15 or more receive a 15 percent discount on all tickets and a flat $10 administration fee.
This production has been made possible, in part, through assistance from the Scottsdale Cultural Council.
Photos courtesy of Connie Campbell Henry
