Sweeney’s back in town
The CMU School of Music presents ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’
Students in the Central Michigan University School of Music will perform Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" March 15-17.
The Stephen Sondheim musical tells the story of a barber looking for revenge, and how he pairs up with Mrs. Lovett, the owner of a failing pie shop.
Directed by music faculty member Eric Tucker, students have been rehearsing since the beginning of January.
The show is double cast, meaning one cast performs one night of the weekend, and another cast performs the other two days.
Elia Danielson, a junior majoring in music education, will portray the character Joanna differently than the other actress playing the role.
"We both get to figure out what we want her to be and sort of have that freedom of choice," said Danielson, noting that her portrayal tends to show Joanna as more paranoid and frantic while the other Joanna is focused more on love.
Darian Bird, a junior double-majoring in political science and music, plays Joanna's counterpart Anthony. Having only worked on smaller-scale productions previously, he is excited to be working with more than 90 people, including cast, crew, orchestra, etc.
"It's been almost surreal," said Bird. "everyone has so much experience and it's nice just working with people who care."
Dylan Goike, a senior majoring in musical theatre, plays the lead role of Sweeney Todd.
"Whenever someone thinks of Sweeney, they think of a terrible, evil man," he said. "The challenge for me is to not just play him as angry, but to showcase that the anger comes from a place of passion."
"This musical really shows off what the School of Music has to offer, and in turn what CMU has to offer," Goike said. "With a small orchestra, a choir and tons of actors, this show is a great representation of the talent and student population that we have here."
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
"Sweeney Todd" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, as well as at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 17. Tickets are available through Ticket Central.