There are people among my theatrical acquaintance who undoubtedly believe that I dislike musical theatre. The fact is that I do not. I am actually quite affected by musical theatre, listen to numerous original cast recordings on long road trips, and secretly wish I had the vocal chops to perform in them. (Alas, I cannot carry a tune in a bucket.)
What I dislike is that so often the “theatre” is nowhere to be found in local musical theatre. School drama programs often insist upon annual musicals thinking that they build programs. They do not. They increase the number of cast members, thus increasing the audience size with more family members to attend. Annual musicals at the high school and college level usually only help the choral programs. You have to improve your singing in order to be considered for major roles. The acting. . . well, it can be taken or left.
As a result, I often sit through a series of songs strung together in static storytelling and sung by largely non-actors exhibiting operatic poses and not much else. (That is still better, I suppose, to musicals with people who can neither sing nor act.).
Anyway, I’m happy to say that the 2008 College of the Sequoias Music Theatre production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon barber of Fleet Street is, in truth, a theatrical success.
Sure, there are a goodly number of students who have beautifully trained choral voices in roles requiring more acting skill than they possess, but on the whole the production is balanced and well performed.
Of the major roles, the two cast with “actors who sing” instead of singers were the title role, played by Chris Mangels, and Judge Turpin (Richard Morrill).
Morrill takes his greatest risks in his solo “Johanna”, putting on a creepy, almost violating, show of a warped character. It can be a tough number to pull off, making him hateful enough to the audience without making them want to call child protective services there and then.
Mangels voice, while not as pristine as his co-stars’, has the advantage of being able to convey great character, mood and texture through it. Mangels commands the stage with his focus and intensity, keeping it reigned in until Sweeney’s most explosive moments. His acting ability also offers proof to the idea that a terrific actor with a decent voice can be just as moving in a musical (sometimes moreso) than a terrific singer who can only moderately act.
As Mrs. Lovett, Lainie Gulliksen has a perfectly cast voice and her characterization works. Acting-wise, though, she’s at her best when actively engaged with Mangels or having to match his intensity. Otherwise, her technique can fall into some amateurish habits.
Of the supporting players, Jim Bonnar (as Anthony Hope) and Danielle Donald (as Johanna) have beautifully rendered voices, and Danielle shows promise as a performance student at C.O.S. Bonnar’s acting performance is apt for his role but lacked the texture and technique needed for Sondheim. The rest of the ensemble worked together very well considering the average age and experience of the cast—the vast majority of the ensemble are student players and most of them from the C.O.S. Choral Department.
The look and feel of the scenic design (also the work of Mangels and his co-lighting designer Steve Lamar) was seamlessly rendered and the stage used effectively and imaginatively with few interrupting scene changes.
This year, C.O.S. is 3 for 3 in terms of fully imagined worlds for the stage. It seems as though the rest of the area theatre companies are going to have to play catch up to College of the Sequoias once again.
