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Cincinnatians might be better prepared for the current touring production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, presently onstage at the Aronoff Center. This is the production that introduced director John Doyle to American theatergoers; just a few months after it opened on Broadway in the fall of 2005, he came to Cincinnati to stage another Sondheim show, Company, which itself moved to Broadway in 2006 and went on to win the 2007 Tony for best revival of a musical. (An excellent recorded version of Company aired on PBS’ Great Performances on Feb. 20.)
Doyle employed a concept with both productions in which the actors provide their own musical accompaniment. The results are transformative.
They’re also tough to reproduce, since Doyle’s productions are premised on the specific musical skills of actors who also play several instruments. The good news is that this production
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2008.
