If you are in the market for a haircut during the week of Nov. 19-21, it may be in your best interest to steer clear of the UMass Fine Arts Center, as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street will be taking residence at the Concert Hall.
Every semester the UMass Theatre Guild selects one play and one musical to perform. This fall they will tackle Sweeney Todd as their musical of choice. There will be four shows over the three days, one each night at 8 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.
For those not familiar with the story, it centers around a barber, Sweeney Todd (played in the UMTG production by senior Ben Sharton), who returns from a prison sentence to find that his wife has committed suicide and his daughter, Johanna (Gwendolyn Coburn), is being held captive at the hands of his nemesis, Judge Turpin (Christian Hoots). Todd and Mrs. Lovett (Sam Mandeville) align to open a pie bakery and barber shop where he carries out gruesome deeds in order to extract revenge against those that have taken his family.
Photo credit Caitlin Coughlan / The Amherst Wire
The musical has been performed in a number of incarnations throughout it’s history, including a 1979 Tony Award winning Broadway production by Stephen Sondheim and most notably a 2007 film adaption of the musical, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.
As the group nears opening night, the practice schedule has grown increasingly burdensome. They have recently added a Saturday practice, meaning they now prep six days a week, nearly four hours a day.
But this tale of Sweeney Todd actually began last spring when it was nominated for the fall musical, up against the likes of Rent and Anything Goes, before being selected by vote by the guild.
“It was funny. When I heard we were going to do it I was like ‘I don’t know if I trust anyone else to direct this. I want to try,’” says artistic director Sophie Kaner, who participated in both of the guild’s plays last year as a freshman. “So I took a few days to figure out the direction I would like to go with it, then presented it to the executive board, and they picked me.”
“I happened to know the show very well. I’ve seen four versions of it and I think the music is incredible, I think the story is very powerful, so I was already very invested in it,” says Kaner.
Now a sophomore, Kaner spent much of the summer deciding how to approach her first role as director and drew much of her perspective from what she has learned in her major.
“Its been interesting for me because as an English major I almost approach this the same way I would when I’m writing an essay, like with literature, analyzing what I see. I’m in a sense taking a text and drawing from that and trying to come up with my own ideas and translate that back onto the stage.”
The production boasts a cast of 25 and a creative team of 32. The Theatre Guild is the oldest registered student organization at UMass and membership is open to anyone that would like to lend a hand with the productions.
Tickets for the four performances are currently available online at AttendTheTale.com and will be available at the door for $10 for the general public or $6 for students and senior citizens.
