Signature Theatre’s “Sweeney Todd” Cuts Deep

Broadway veteran Bryonha Marie shares her approach to playing Mrs. Lovett in this beloved, macabre Sondheim musical.

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is a long-running musical for a reason, says Broadway veteran Bryonha Marie. Beneath the drama and absurd violence of the text, “You understand who these people are — because they are you and I.”

Marie plays Mrs. Lovett, purveyor of the worst pies in London, in Stephen Sondheim and Hug Wheeler’s classic, now playing at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia through July 9.

Directed by Sarna Lapine, Signature Theatre’s production makes full use of the innovative storytelling that made the original so simultaneously compelling and uncomfortable. Based on a Victorian ‘penny dreadful’ story and adapted from a 1970 play by Christopher Bond, “Sweeney Todd” helped redefine the musical as an art form when it debuted on Broadway in 1979, injecting a heavy dose of dark comedy into its grim subject matter.

“When you think it’s horribly sad, it turns on a dime and becomes the funniest thing,” Marie says. “There are not a lot of writers who can cross between tones so seamlessly.”

The set by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, costume design by Robert Perdziola, and wigs by Anne Nesmith combine to create a lurid picture of Victorian England.

The character of Mrs. Lovett has been played by some true icons of the stage and screen: Angela Lansbury in the original production, Patti Lupone in its 2005 revival, and Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton’s film adaptation. How do you make a character like that? Go back to the original text. Marie sat down with the music to see exactly what Sondheim and Wheeler wrote.

“I said, okay, what I’m going to bring to the role is I’m going to sing the notes he wrote, all of them — even where he just wrote little x’s,” to denote where Mrs. Lovett could maybe sing those notes, you know. So I’m very excited and thrilled to hopefully bring the truest original intention to the role.”

She describes her Mrs. Lovett as “sexy, powerful, and a little out of her mind” — a contrast to Angela Lansbury’s cute-as-a-button portrayal.

Nathaniel Stampley + Bryonha Marie. Photo by Christopher Mueller.

Joining Marie as the titular character of Sweeney Todd, a barber bent on revenge against the corrupt judge who ruined his life, is Broadway actor Nathaniel Stampley. Stampley and Marie previously co-starred together in “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” in 2011, and worked together on several subsequent shows. Marie asked him directly to join the production.

“I think it’s really important for Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney to trust each other and to feel safe with each other,” Marie says. “I knew from my work with him that I could be my complete self with him. We wouldn’t leave each other hanging.”

Lapine brings a subtle modernity and context to the musical — in part through her casting of Black actors to play “Sweeney Todd’s” leads. “We didn’t lead with that in the staging of the production too much. It was just enough for us to be there, in these bodies, singing this material,” says Marie. “Historically, [“Sweeney Todd”] has been seen and heard through a certain vessel. Every night, this show challenges people’s perception of what that should sound and look like.”

The theater space at Signature is also more intimate than a big Broadway production, with only about 280 seats, demanding full immersion from the audience.

“You’re processing these characters you’ve seen and heard for years in a certain way, and all of a sudden, they’re just not that way,” Marie says. “It challenges you to take a story on from their point of view, which I think is so rich, tragic and beautiful, and brings even more joy to the roles then than before.”

At a time when there’s so much entertainment at our fingertips, live theater is a bracing experience – especially after the pandemic, when it was taken away from us for so long. “Sweeney Todd” at Signature Theatre is helping to bring the age-old craft of the musical to new audiences.

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” runs through July 9. For tickets and further information, visit the theatre’s website.

Signature Theatre: 4200 Campbell Ave. Arlington, VA; 703-820-9771; sigtheatre.org // @sigtheatre

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Haley McKey

Haley McKey is an artist and friend to the wild living and working in the DMV. As an area native, she has seen DC grow and evolve over the course of her life. She loves writing about art, music, animals and our environment, especially the city's dedication to conserving wildlife habitat. When she's not writing or working, she's painting and drawing. She loves a sour cocktail.