By Michael Pedro
During the weekend of April 4 to April 6, the Stageless Players will be hosting their annual spring musical. In past years, they’ve done musicals such as Little Shop of Horrors and The Rocky Horror Show. This year’s musical carries on the horror theme, with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street being showcased. This is one of the more challenging Broadway musicals to put on due to its extensive musical score and dark themes, just to name a few things. However, this makes it all the more impressive that it’s being performed.
The role of the titular character, Sweeney Todd, is played by Josh Farrell, who will be in his fifth production with the Stageless Players. Farell noted that the easiest parts of the musical came in “finding this character and how I want to play him, and the ways that I am able to play my own take on him.” However, challenges arise with difficult plays to perform, and Farrell notes this, as the role of Sweeney Todd is very music-heavy. “There is one bit at the end of Act One I sing for 20 minutes straight, so that’s been a lot. A lot of my songs also have similar lines and motifs, so remembering which ones go where has been a frustrating challenge,” Farrell said.
Cassidy Brannon, who plays Beadle Bamford, is in her sixth production with the Stageless Players. Brannon notes that “the easiest part of this process for me has probably been getting to work closely with Cam since we are already close friends, and we get to have some fun scenes together in this show.” Brannon agreed with Farrell on the difficulty of the musical score, saying that “the most challenging part of this show has probably been the music. David has been a wonderful music director and helped us so much with this very difficult score.” Bringing this musical to life has been a favorite part of this production for the cast, but for Brannon, this goes deeper. “It is one of my dad’s favorite shows, and I can’t wait for him and everyone else to see it!” Brannon said.
Sweeney Todd has been a labor of love for the cast and crew. The troupe has been buzzing with excitement about this play since its announcement, and you can buy tickets now! “We have taken one of the hardest Broadway productions and found a way to do it and make it our own in a short time frame, and we would love for people to come see the work we have put in,” Farrell said. “Everyone has put in so much work on this incredibly difficult show!” Brannon said. “And it’ll be lots of fun!”
Tickets for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street can be purchased online at wneu.universitytickets.com. Student and senior citizen tickets cost $5.00 and general admission tickets cost $7.00. Tickets will be sold at the door for $7.00.
The available showtimes are April 4 at 7:00 p.m., April 5 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and April 6 at 2:00 p.m.
