This Weekend: Sweeney Todd Opens At TPAC

We were fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at Tennessee Rep’s upcoming production of Sweeney Todd early last week, and let’s just say we’re excited for opening night tomorrow. It was their first LookIn of the season and was certainly a hit (or maybe that was the free wine), as we arrived to a full room of volunteers, theatre buffs and a handful of curious folk like ourselves. Other area theatre groups should take a hint and implement similar “sneak peek” programs – the LookIn was a very small time investment (and cost us nothing) that got us excited for much more to come. 

We learned a few things about how the set for Sweeney Todd was created, and were treated to a few musical numbers by the cast. The set is… cool! It works just like the movie! With a chair… and a chute! And a knife! And they’re going to pull it off without Tim Burton! It may be taboo in some theatre circles to mention the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd, but we wanted to know just how closely the movie version followed the original play. So we asked. We were told that the movie is a lot darker and has a lot more blood & gore, while the play is more lighthearted and witty (at least as lighthearted as a murder and cannibalism can be). We’d be lying if we said we weren’t relieved. 

Sweeney Todd opens at the Johnson Theater at TPAC tomorrow night and runs through October 18. We heard that several of the shows have almost sold out, so grab your tickets quickly. We’ll be there tomorrow night, and we may toss a review up over the weekend if we’re not too lazy. 

Related posts:

  1. Sneak Peek: Tennessee Reps’ Moonlight & Magnolias
  2. Saving Local Arts: Why We Need Tennessee Rep [Bailouts]