SWEENEY TODD at La Mirada

[Merkin2]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 2:06pm

Anyone seeing this?

 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 2:56pm

Curious too.  The singing is a bit .... ugh ....

[THDavis]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 3:01pm

I’ll be checking this out February 13th (Friday the 13th - felt appropriate). I’ll report back. 

[A.J.]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 4:01pm

I commented on a promo video that the 2005 John Doyle revival had a similar concept (set in an asylum). I wasn’t making a comparison or accusing anyone of stealing ideas; Just pointing out the similarity as a bit of trivia. 

One of the performers from this production took that as a personal attack, later making a video calling me a “dick-parade”?!

[Dan6]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 4:09pm

I'll be there on 2/22.  Every time I brave the traffic to La Mirada (which is a lovely theater) I promise myself I'll never do it again, so this obviously held some appeal for me. 

Updated On: 2/1/26 at 04:09 PM

[DCS]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 7:53pm

A.J. said: "I commentedon a promo videothat the 2005 John Doyle revival had a similar concept (set in an asylum). I wasn’t making a comparison or accusing anyone of stealing ideas; Just pointing out the similarity as a bit of trivia.

One of the performersfrom this production took that as a personal attack, later making a video calling me a “dick-parade”?!"

I agree with you especially since one of the promo videos featured director Jason Alexander proclaiming that the concept of setting Sweeney in an insane asylum was his wholly original idea that no one had ever done before... obviously not true since Doyle's version was set in an asylum and, correct me if I'm wrong, was meant to be the asylum Toby is sent to after the events of the show. Of course Mr Alexander is not known for either his stage directing skills or his forthrightness in admitting when the work of others inspires his directorial choices (being as diplomatic as possible there). 

Updated On: 2/1/26 at 07:53 PM

[FightTheDragons]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 8:55pm

I saw the production. In one sentence, I would call it a solid production of a fantastic show with an underbaked concept and fine actors.

The asylum concept works, but is also almost entirely auxiliary to the story being told here. It feels like Jason Alexander went "this is a cool idea and I like it" so they did it. It doesn't detract from the story (beyond a few "wait why is it like that" moments) but it doesn't add anything either. The show is so strong that it all works well enough, but it leaves one wishing that they had either entirely committed to the asylum concept and made it integral to the production or abandoned it and gone for a traditional version of the show.

The cast all ranges from fine to pretty good. Will Swenson is appropriately intimidating and deep-voiced as Sweeney, but doesn't provide much else -- he spends much of the show looking down and being brooding without providing much of a look into the deep complexity of the character. He's fine. Lesli Margherita, on the other hand, is an acting delight; appropriately hammy, absolutely hilarious, and scene-stealing. She unfortunately does not fare too well with the score, though -- her voice has been going for a while and it's particularly apparent in the more difficult numbers like "The Worst Pies in London" and "By the Sea," where she either is just kind of yelling or has to pull things into head voice where it's not meant to be. She makes it work and is acting her face off, so I'm not at all upset at her performance.

Chris Hunter has a gorgeous voice as Anthony, but is very much acting like he's in an opera, with all that entails. It feels out of place in this version of the show, both vocally and acting-wise. Allison Sheppard is an inoffensive Johanna, not that the role is very easy to make the audience care about. Austyn Myers is solid as a nervous and sweet Toby, though I wish his ending scene had been more menacing -- perhaps that was the direction and not him.

Overall, it's good. It could have been great, but that would have required a far more thought out concept or a pivot back to a traditional staging of the show. It's worth your time to see it, but it's not going to change your world or how you think about the show.

Updated On: 2/1/26 at 08:55 PM

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 9:05pm

It's interesting to me that this is an asylum-set concept -- other than the main casting, I had no idea it was set a lá Doyle until reading this thread. I saw the production photos before reading about the concept, and thought it looked much more similar to the OG design than obviously being set in Fogg's Asylum; kinda seems half-aßed to me. (At least from not seeing it in person.)

[James885]

Posted: 2/1/26 at 9:27pm

I'll be seeing it in a couple weeks. 

[henrike]

Posted: 2/2/26 at 4:53am

Made the drove down to Orange County to see it over the weekend. Spoilers below.

=============

I agree with the previous assessment that the concept was half baked. The set, given how it'll only run for a month or so, was impressive. It did, however, feel like a generic 3-stort steel scaffolding set up, with "BOGG'S ASYLUM" sign tacked on. There was a performer at the very top of the set throughout the whole show, hunched over like a zombie, creepily moving his arms to the beat of the music as if he's orchestrating the entire evening. In the finale Ballad, it's revealed that he was Sweeney the whole time. To me, I didn't get it. Would've made sense if it was Toby who was retelling the story, but I guess John Doyle already did that take.

The oven was just some bright red light behind a white curtain on the side of the stage. And perhaps it was due to the spatial limitations of the stage, but the barber chair was just... a wheel chair. After each knife slit, Sweeney would roll the chair to the edge of the 2nd story of the barber/pie shop unit. A big dumper is carried in from the wings, downstage in front of the pie shop. Sweeney would shove the bodies of his victims as they fall/somersault into the dumpster.

I think Sweeney Todd is one of those shows now in which so many theater afficionados have opinions. And they all go see the production with a "let's see if this production will live up to my expectations" mindset. And most productions end up being just decent to good.

I'd also categorize this production as good. I liked it better than the Josh Groban revival. Will Swenson was fine. He played into the pain/sorrow that Sweeney feels, but his insanity wasn't convincing. I think it's *the* hardest role to pull off for male actors in the musical theatre canon. Nevertheless, Will Swenson did an admirable attempt, which is way more than what I can say regarding Josh Groban's performance.

Lesli Margherita was my personal highlight. She hammed it up like she's in a British farce. I would've maybe wanted to see a little more fear and desperation in her Mrs. Lovett, but just a personal preference. Some actresses, like Annaleigh Ashford, may try to take a different approach and completely fail. And Leslie Margherita proved to me that playing the role in a conventional way, if written well, is a perfectly valid choice. Her singing didn't bother me, like another poster commented, since her comedic choices were committed.

The supporting cast was solid. I do agree with the sentiment that Anthony's Joanna was sung a little too overtly. Pirelli and Toby were both notably enjoyable. 

I thought that the show was over choreographed. The opening Ballad feels much more sinister when the actors are still, not jerking their bodies and arms in a Thriller-esque movement. So that's one unfortunate similarity to the recent Broadway revival.

The actors' mics were over amped (a bit distracting to hear every breath, etc), but my ears eventually adjusted. I think the venue could invest in a better audio set up.

I think I nit-picked quite a bit, but I really was glad to have seen the production overall. And I didn't fully "get" the final moment (Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, on the 3rd floor scaffold, both jump off and we see the silhouette of their "bodies" falling), but it was shocking and left me disturbed in a satisfying way. 

 

 

Updated On: 2/2/26 at 04:53 AM

[Observation]

Posted: 2/2/26 at 7:52am

I think you mean to say Lesli Margherita  Funny enough, I too have made the mistake of calling her Leslie Kritzker

 

henrike said: "Made the drove down to Orange County to see it over the weekend. Spoilers below.

=============

I agree with the previous assessment that the concept was half baked. The set, given how it'll only run for a month or so, was impressive. It did, however, feel like a generic 3-stort steel scaffolding set up, with "BOGG'S ASYLUM" sign tacked on. There was a performer at the very top of the set throughout the whole show, hunched over like a zombie, creepily moving his arms to the beat of the music as if he's orchestrating the entire evening. In the finale Ballad, it's revealed that he was Sweeney the whole time. To me, I didn't get it. Would've made sense if it was Toby who was retelling the story, but I guess John Doyle already did that take.

The oven was just some bright red light behind a white curtain on the side of the stage. And perhaps it was due to the spatial limitations of the stage, but the barber chair was just... a wheel chair. After each knife slit, Sweeney would roll the chair to the edge of the 2nd story of the barber/pie shop unit. A big dumper is carried in from the wings, downstage in front of the pie shop. Sweeney would shove the bodies of his victims as they fall/somersault into the dumpster.

I think Sweeney Todd is one of those shows now in which so many theater afficionados have opinions. And they all go see the production with a "let's see if this production will live up to my expectations" mindset. And most productions end up being just decent to good.

I'd also categorize this production as good. I liked it better than the Josh Groban revival. Will Swenson was fine. He played into the pain/sorrow that Sweeney feels, but his insanity wasn't convincing. I think it's *the* hardest role to pull off for male actors in the musical theatre canon. Nevertheless, Will Swenson did an admirable attempt, which is way more than what I can say regarding Josh Groban's performance.

Leslie Kritzer was my personal highlight. She hammed it up like she's in a British farce. I would've maybe wanted to see a little more fear and desperation in her Mrs. Lovett, but just a personal preference. Some actresses, like Annaleigh Ashford, may try to take a different approach and completely fail. And Leslie Kritzer proved to me that playing the role in a conventional way, if written well, is a perfectly valid choice. Her singing didn't bother me, like another poster commented, since her comedic choices were committed.

The supporting cast was solid. I do agree with the sentiment that Anthony's Joanna was sung a little too overtly. Pirelli and Toby were both notably enjoyable.

I thought that the show was over choreographed. The opening Ballad feels much more sinister when the actors are still, not jerking their bodies and arms in a Thriller-esque movement. So that's one unfortunate similarity to the recent Broadway revival.

The actors' mics were over amped (a bit distracting to hear every breath, etc), but my ears eventually adjusted. I think the venue could invest in a better audio set up.

I think I nit-picked quite a bit, but I really was glad to have seen the production overall. And I didn't fully "get" the final moment (Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, on the 3rd floor scaffold, both jump off and we see the silhouette of their "bodies" falling), but it was shocking and left me disturbed in a satisfying way.



"

 

[henrike]

Posted: 2/2/26 at 5:47pm

^ Oops. You're right! 

[FightTheDragons]

Posted: 2/2/26 at 8:07pm

henrike said: "There was a performer at the very top of the set throughout the whole show, hunched over like a zombie, creepily moving his arms to the beat of the music as if he's orchestrating the entire evening. In the finale Ballad, it's revealed that he was Sweeney the whole time. To me, I didn't get it. Would've made sense if it was Toby who was retelling the story, but I guess John Doyle already did that take."

Yeah, this confounded me too. Frankly, it makes no sense for Sweeney to be the Overseer if we're set in Fogg's Asylum; he'd be dead. It should be Toby, which is a great way to lean into the idea that part of the story is about creating the next Sweeney Todd. When it's Sweeney, the question becomes... why? It adds nothing to the story.

"I think Sweeney Todd is one of those shows now in which so many theater afficionados have opinions. And they all go see the production with a "let's see if this production will live up to my expectations" mindset. And most productions end up being just decent to good."

I agree with this, but I also think that given that Sweeney Todd is one of the best musicals ever written, we should expect excellence. La Mirada has money and access to wonderful talent. They can and should be doing great work, especially when they're doing a show like this. I think critiquing it as such is fair.

"I thought that the show was over choreographed. The opening Ballad feels much more sinister when the actors are still, not jerking their bodies and arms in a Thriller-esque movement. So that's one unfortunate similarity to the recent Broadway revival."

This was very unfortunate. I have no idea why one would feel the need to choreograph a number that's already doing the work for them. The choreography adds nothing and made me laugh at points when you had dancers doing contemporary leaps and turns when they're supposed to be asylum inmates. It makes no sense.

"I think I nit-picked quite a bit, but I really was glad to have seen the production overall. And I didn't fully "get" the final moment (Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, on the 3rd floor scaffold, both jump off and we see the silhouette of their "bodies" falling), but it was shocking and left me disturbed in a satisfying way."

I'm glad to have seen it too. At the same time, I truly think it could have been so much more. I think the final moment was purely for the cool factor -- that seems to be a theme with this production. It works but doesn't add, and sometimes detracts. 

I think that if you're going to "concept" Sweeney, or really any Sondheim, you need to go all out. Fully balls to the wall go insane with it, and if you're going to do the asylum, DO the asylum. Make a big swing. Otherwise, do it traditionally and do it well.

[auroraspice62]

Posted: 2/2/26 at 11:14pm

Could anyone who saw this post a picture of the orchestra list from the program? Appreciated!