BBC News:
“Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton have wowed theWest Endwith their murderous performances in Stephen Sondheim’s bloodthirsty musical Sweeney Todd.
The pair won a standing ovation when the show opened at the Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday night.
“I had a dream to do this six years ago,” Michael Ball told the BBC.
“Three years ago I asked Imelda if she’d do it. And here we are – we’ve opened in theWest End. I’m like a dog with two tails.”. . .”
Here are the first reviews in:
Guardian (5 stars)
“. . . Jonathan Kent’s production, which has now transferred fromChichester, and which leaves me grasping for superlatives, has given the piece a fresh look without destroying its essential fabric. . .”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/mar/21/sweeney-todd-review?newsfeed=true
Telegraph (4 stars):
“. . .Kent’s production doesn’t always achieve the hurtling momentum required by a show inspired by horror films and their scores, which Sondheim has described as “a movie for the stage”.
But that is enough nitpicking. There is far more to commend than to criticise, and those lucky enough to be seeing Sweeney Todd for the first time will be blown away. . .”
Daily Mail (4 stars)
“. . .In this transfer fromChichesterit is staged and sung and acted with verve. Professionalism at every turn. A top band.
. . . Director Jonathan Kent delivers spectacle. The whole thing is done with artistic oompf. . .”
The Arts Desk:
“The King Lear of musicals. . . Director Jonathan Kent keeps the complex action moving elegantly across the stage, using all three levels of Ward’s set to good effect as he marks out Sondheim’s shifting rhythms.
. . . Ball, while he does well enough, is ultimately just not big enough. . .”
http://www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/sweeney-todd-adelphi-theatre
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