Month: December 2018

William Gillette and Felix Geisel are actors and best friends. Gillette wrote a play based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Shelock Holmes series, and it has been a huge success, playing for 15 years. The run ends early, though, when someone from the audience tries to shoot Gillette dead, but only wings him. Two weeks later he invites the rest of the cast (they’re all friends) to stay as guests at his tony, recently built mansion. Felix brings his wife Madge. Simon and Aggie have eloped and told no one. Gillette and his elderly mother Martha will play host over the Christmas Holidays. Much to everyone’s horror, Gillette has invited Daria Chase, the vitriolic gossip columnist to join them. Chase is doing a biographical piece on Gillette, so it seemed like a practical idea. When a ruse to expose the foiled assassin backfires, Chase is incensed. True to form, she’s vindictive and vicious, threatening to ruin all their careers. Especially Gillette’s.

Playwright Ken Ludwig certainly knows how to construct a comedic murder mystery, using tropes of the genre without pandering. The cast members are all close and casual, trading witticisms and basking in each other’s congenial company. As the narrative progresses, we discover hidden connections, and unrevealed affairs. Without revealing too much, we’re treated to one of the most hilarious murders I have ever witnessed. Onstage, that is. While Gillette capitalizes on his prolonged history of playing Sherlock (the precursor of criminal forensics) the structure resembles Agatha Christie’s ensemble mysteries (Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None…) more. All the guests have ample motivation, and the first confession won’t be the last. All this being said, Ludwig’s appropriation of Christie is redeemed by intelligence, plausibility and fresh takes on the familiar.

Richardson Theatre Centre’s production of The Game’s Afoot (or Holmes for the Holidays) is vastly pleasurable, marked by the players’ relaxed, canny, buoyant performances. The humor feels natural, the banter, spontaneous. Considerable demands made of the actors come off with grace and professionalism, thanks to the guidance of Rachael Lindley. Danger may not necessarily be the most salient aspect of Ludwig’s script but no matter, the deliciously wry script yields much enjoyment and a splendid diversion for the holidays.

Richardson Theatre Centre’s presents: The Game’s Afoot (or Holmes for the Holidays) playing November 30th-December 23^rd, 2018. 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 113, Richardson, Texas 75080. 972-699-1130. www.richardsontheatrecentre.net

Oh, the joys of that wicked, sardonic team, John Kander (Composer) and Fred Ebb (Lyricist). Lambasting the apathy of degenerative society, while extolling the pleasures therein. Arguably their two most successful shows: Cabaret and Chicago detail cultures so cynical and jaundiced that irresponsible, reprehensible, reckless behavior barely elicits a blink. Sally Bowles’ roommate Elsie may have died of “too much pills and liquor”, but she was the “happiest looking corpse” she’d ever seen. Chicago is set in the 1920’s when women who commit lurid, tawdry murders dominate the headlines and thus, become celebrities. The juicier the particulars, the more devoted their fanbase. Columnist Mary Sunshine acts as point person between the felons and their adoring public. Prison Matron Mama Morton is effectively, a publicist and agent for “the girls.”

The two current contenders, Velma Kelly and neophyte Roxie Hart, fight each other for the limelight. Velma murdered her husband and sister after catching them in the act, and Roxie shot her paramour as he was walking out. They both admit culpability but (as we hear repeatedly) “the truth doesn’t matter”. Enter Billy Flynn whose expertise makes him the attorney of choice, for the innocent women who kill set. Roxie learns quickly that star status only shines as long as your last atrocity, managing to hold her own against an experienced tiger like Velma.

Chicago is permeated with chilly, sophisticated salaciousness. Virtue is for prissy fools and rampant, rushy vice for the savvy and dissatisfied. Of course, it doesn’t take a lot of reflection to see that neither choice is desirable or inevitable, but that doesn’t mean the myth doesn’t prevail. The brilliance of Kander, Ebb and Bob Fosse is the viable contradiction that while the story says, “Come hither,” it also says “Get lost!”. It elicits our taste for ignoring grace while expressing contempt for our hypocrisy. That being said, it’s all dressed in the eclat of blackest satire, giving us permission to shift into autopilot and enjoy. But when Velma greets us at the start of the second act with, “Welcome back, suckers,” she ain’t kiddin. The nastiness that rocks Chicago may be tame by today’s standards, but perhaps, the chutzpah that doesn’t feel audacious, might offer a clue to what our culture wants and gets.

The cast of Chicago is sleek, tacit and on point. Dressed to seduce, in their sheer, peekaboo black that somehow manages to fuse the upscale with the downlow, they are flagrant and acrobatic. Teasing but icy. The women playing Roxie (Dylis Croman) and Velma (Terra. C. MacLeod) are supple, unapologetic, and canny. Actors in the supporting roles: Billy Flynn (Eddie George) Mama Morton (Jennifer Fouche’) and Amos Hart (Paul Vogt) are dry, witty and fresh.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Chicago, playing Tuesday Dember the 18^th, through Sunday, December 23rd, 2018. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St, Dallas, Texas 75201. 214-880-0202. www.attpac.org

Stuart and Paulette are a somewhat elderly, bi-racial couple, introduced in last year’s Theatre 3, Solstice Holiday Show. They are quite fond of each other, and no less avid or convivial, for the passing years. They tryst in DFW’s Crawford Memorial Park, where the forbidding, dark and chilly weather, only serve to enhance the cozy, sexy mood. Stuart rides up on one of those “grocery store” scooters, with a comfortable seat and basket. He comes bearing gifts of Christmas Cheer (hydrocodone) that he also uses to supplement his meager income. Paulette and Stuart may be getting on, but they haven’t lost their streetcred. They are lit, in more ways than one.

When the amorous couple begin to hear noises, Paulette fears they may fall prey to serial killers. (Thank you, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit). Soon they cross paths with pagans who (though they seem harmless enough) congenially explain that they must ritually sacrifice the two. While these strange folks don’t seem, shall we say, focused enough, to place Stuart and Paulette in imminent danger, Paulette leaves and Stuart stays behind. Later, Stuart has a conversation with a grouchy, savvy, female supernatural entity named Misery. She helps Stuart work through the loss of his wife Lola, who passed from cancer. She also ushers him to the presence of “Miss Nancy – Keeper of the Keys”. It takes a number of encounters before Stuart understands the reasoning behind his ambivalence and lack of commitment to Paulette.

Solstice: A New Holiday Adventure, is Theatre 3’s alternative to traditional holiday entertainment. The Winter solstice is a powerful, remarkable event in the pagan calendar, that existed long before Christmas was celebrated. Carefully woven by Jonathan Norton, Janielle Kastner and Cherish Love, Solstice introduces us to the longest night of the year, on the cusp between Autumn and Winter. Entities familiar and strange intervene in human activity, in this case, the romance between Paulette and Stuart. Stuart and Paulette are deeply involved, despite grown children who don’t understand, and past lovers that get in the way. Their profound connection reaches a crisis point on this magical night, and the sagacious Misery helps Stuart salvage it.

It’s grand that T3 steps up to acknowledge that Winter mystery and jubilation doesn’t begin and end with Judeo-Christian tradition. Nor does the variety of observances demand mutual exclusivity or the value of one transcendence over another. The romance of Paulette and Stuart is unconventional: quirky, humorous, authentic and audacious. Norton, Kastner and Love create an other worldly intersection between mortals and countless deities that’s sweet, warm and engaging.

Theatre 3 presents: Solstice: A New Holiday Adventure, playing December 6th-30th, 2018. 2800 Routh Street, Suite 168, Dallas, Texas 75201. 214-871-3300. theatre3dallas.com

Based on the beloved film, A Christmas Story: The Musical, tells the story of Ralphie, a nine-year old boy living in Hohman, Indiana, and a particularly memorable Christmas, that in retrospect was something of a watershed. Ralphie lives with his younger brother Randy, and his Mom and Dad, in a two-story home. His dad, always referred to as “The Old Man,” is personable, when he’s not grousing about the furnace, the neighbor dogs or the car. Ralphie’s Mom is kind and patient, though she’s not above yelling to get the boys off to school. Randy perpetually refuses to eat at supper time, and exists, pretty much, for the purpose of comic relief

At this particular Christmas Season, Ralphie wants nothing more than The Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle, but all the grownups respond with the same rejoinder: “You’ll shoot your eye out!” (Wouldn’t it be somebody else’s eye?) Said rifle captures his boyhood imagination in a big way; Ralphie’s convinced it would be the solution to all his woes. Such is the Holy Grail he strives to secure throughout the show. Along the way, Ralphie’s dad wins a hideous lamp after repeatedly entering a crossword puzzle contest. Fashioned after a woman’s leg (in fishnet stocking and stiletto heels) Mom is none too pleased by Dad’s “Major Award”. Ralphie must also contend with bullies, a demanding teacher and an apathetic department store Santa. Along the way he learns some genuine, reflective life lessons.

A Christmas Story: The Musical seems to be an odd (yet effective) combination of disillusionment, caricature and quirky detail. Ralphie’s flights of fancy (and one of The Old Man’s) are highlighted by over-the-top, satirical musical numbers, choreographed and timed to get maximum effect from Ralphie’s extravagant imagination. Repeatedly, though, opportunities that come his way are shattered by cruel reality. When he gets a chance to help his dad change a tire, he winds up getting punished for using an obscenity. When he stands up to a bully, he worries he’s in hot water for pummeling the kid. The paper he’s certain will net him an A +++, only gets him a C +, and the familiar BB Gun rebuke. His optimism is boundless, but the rest of the world refuses to cooperate.

The musical version of A Christmas Story seems to gloss over some weaknesses of the film. Christmas entertainment has presented a quandary for ages. Either we get the same stories with nothing to keep them fresh and invigorating, or new ones that feel lame and contrived. I think maybe A Christmas Story has caught on, because it relinquishes a lot of the tropes we expect from Yuletide Narratives. It’s unconventional. There’s a fair dose of skepticism, no clear heroes or villains, behavior we recognize from everyday experience. The dad swears (though what we hear is gibberish). The teacher’s a pain, but not a monster. The unwanted gift Ralphie receives from his crazy aunt is a silly pink bunny suit. The disappointments are there, but none of it is played for pathos. It’s not really suffused with enchantment, but maybe that makes it more accessible (for some) than the realms of nutcrackers, matchgirls and Magi needing a room for the night.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents A Christmas Story: The Musical, playing through Sunday, December 16^th, 2018. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St, Dallas, Texas 75201. 214-880-0202. www.attpac.org

I apologize if I am using this term incorrectly, but for me, “garage theatre” is performance done on a shoestring, usually comedy. As if performed in a garage (or a basement) the production uses objects, props and costumes that don’t feel especially polished, and sometimes downright jeery-rigged. Like other genres, garage theatre is often harder than it looks. As a rule, the best performers can manage a lot with a little, so this particular approach relies heavily on chops and inspired impulses.

A few years ago, Andi Allen’s Santa Claus vs The Martians greeted holiday audiences with its own take on low-budget entertainment. Based on the infamous, schlocky film: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, it featured Betty and Billy Foster, two kids who are kidnapped, along with Santa Claus, by aliens. Martian King Kimar notices his two children are dejected, after watching Earth television. Seems they long for the same jollity brought by Santy, and the toys he delivers to Earth children. Taking Hargo, Voldar, Rigna and Dropo (who stows aboard) Kimar visits Earth, to fetch Santa back to and initiate Christmas on Mars. Voldar, a warrior to the marrow, is seriously irked by this plan, and sets out to kill Santa, Billy and Betty. Clearly Voldar has issues.

Somehow, some way, every year, when Santa Claus vs The Martians returns, it feels fresh, with material added to keep it current. Like Steven Spielberg, Allen and Director Kevin Fuld sneak in lots of “adult humor” without tipping their hand to the kids. Consider an elf named “Winky”, Voldar denouncing Kimar because he’s gone “soft” and Mrs. Santa, perpetually intoxicated and a shameless flirt. Santa vs Martians completely exploits the horrible dialogue, tortured acting and abysmal production values of the film, and carry it off, with merry, goofy, gloriously ridiculous results. The godawful execution becomes part of the comedy. A bottle of talcum powder creates smoke to surround Chochem, the oracular sage reminiscent of Yoda. Mrs. Santa skates through the action, for the sole purpose of tossing snowflakes. After their brush with danger, a polar bear waggles his hiney at Betty and Billy.

Successful comedy is so elusive, so difficult to conjure, so susceptible to nuances of tone and delivery. So much can go wrong. Who would imagine such shameless facetiousness would pop, year after year? When you find a show that consistently graces you with helpless laughter, in retrospect you feel something like awe. Kudos to the mad maniacs who conspired to kindle this splendid alternative to the usual Yuletide fare. How often do you leave a comedy that’s 90% chutzpah, feeling giddy and jazzed? Santa Claus vs The Martians is taking a hiatus after this season, so don’t miss your chance.

Cast members: Alexis Nabors, Rhonda Durant, and Jordan Pokladnik, Bill Otstott, Joel Frapart, Jeny Sidall, Lauren Ashley Hearn and Steve Roberts, Veronica Day, Sunny Bundy, Eileen Kennedy Alger, Robert G. Shores and Jake Shanahan.

Camp Death Productions presents Santa Claus vs The Martians 5.0, playing December 6th-22nd, 2018. Margo Jones Theatre in The Magnolia Lounge (Fair Park) 1121 First Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75210. 1-800-838-3006. santaclausvsthemartians.brownpapertickets.com

I remember seeing Judy Garland, when I was a child, on her television specials, and how deeply she resonated with me. Something perhaps about the clarity, the genuine frailty and emotion that came through, when she sang. This was, of course, long before I knew I was gay, and different from other boys. I don’t know if somehow, on some level, I felt she was singing to me, or for me, or looking back, my experience was similar to Vincent Minelli’s, or Sid Lufts, all things considered. I can tell you though, that I’d forgotten how intense my emotional connection was, until I saw last night’s production of A Very Judy Christmas, written and directed by B.J. Cleveland. When a gentleman in the front row stood to applaud after Judy sang a cross duet of “Get Happy”, I was not at all surprised.

Inspired by the celebrity specials of the 50’s and 60’s, A Very Judy Christmas is set in what’s supposed to be Judy Garland’s (Janelle Lutz) “Hollywood Home”, with a bar, sofa, fireplace, and a small orchestra hidden in the adjoining room. One by one, her teenage daughter Liza, and boyfriend Tracy, and glamorous guests appear. Marilyn Monroe, Ethel Merman, Pearl Bailey, Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme’, come rapping at the door, take off their coats, and perform traditional and recent Christmas carols: “Santa Baby”,“Jingle Bells”,“Marshmallow World”, “I’ll be Home for Christmas”…..It was all very posh and sophisticated for the time, casual attitudes towards drinking, creating the illusion and spontaneity of an actual Christmas party, the frank banter and smalltalk.

B. J. Cleveland skillfully mixes a blend of nostalgia, warmth, in-jokes and irony to create a powerful, evocative experience, carefully searching for just the right tone. Garland’s struggle with alcohol and pills is referenced more than once, painstakingly avoiding disingenuousness. Something about Lutz’s demeanor invites us to laugh with Garland, rather than feeling pity or sadness. Cleveland winks at us more than once, when Garland slyly signals to her devoted LGBTQ fanbase. Or perhaps he’s merely aiming for the folks to be found at a Garland “tribute”. It’s understandable that Cleveland should make use of barely concealed subtext: the substance abuse, the obsessed gay fans, the failed marriages to bisexual husbands. In a legitimate way, Judy Garland belongs to us (though not exclusively) so we have an appreciation for her backstory. That being said, I thought maybe Judy Christmas was ringing those bells a little too often.

I qualified the word “tribute” because it would be an injustice to reduce Janelle Lutz’s turn as the raw, classy, earnest, poised and sometimes a bit bawdy, Judy Garland. Ms. Lutz does not only play Judy Garland. She would seem to have an intuitive feel for what it must have been to have Garland’s life. What the world expected of her, and what she how she mamaged without forfeiting her dignity and true identity onstage. When you see Theresa Russell play Marilyn Monroe in Insignificance, it isn’t about resemblance. Russell is so focused, you forget you’re watching an actor. This is what Ms. Lutz miraculously achieves in A Very Judy Christmas. It’s almost as if she forgets she’s somebody other than Judy Garland. Whatever your take on this splendid show might be, it has that special quality that so many Christmas productions lack. It feels adult, canny, witty, and in its own skeptical, savvy way, it still knows that magic is real.

Uptown Players presents A Very Judy Christmas, playing December 1st-16th, 2018. 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Dallas, Texas 75219. (214) 219-2718. www.uptownplayers.org

It seems that in Dallas/Ft. Worth, the same quandary arises every Christmas season. Local theaters stage: A Christmas Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Nutcracker, maybe Amahl and the Night Visitors, maybe some other creations that while different, have nothing original to say. Then, last year, WaterTower Theatre premiered a show called The Great Distance Home, conceived and directed by Kelsey Leigh Ervi. They have given it a revival this year, and I am thrilled to report it’s as spirited, touching, funny, spontaneous and sublime as before. If not more so.

It’s a challenge to describe The Great Distance Home. It unfolds a narrative with few spoken words, music, vignettes, and bright, confident, witty movement that expresses key moments in one man’s life, and those he loves. Without a doubt it’s a story about (among other things) family. In some ways it made me think of pantomime, but it’s so much more than that. It creates a world, a cosmos. There are moments of hilarity, fear, warmth and sadness. Great Distance tells a particular story, but one we can all relate too. Like the best theatre, it involves us gradually. When those evocative, tender moments come, we are completely immersed.

No response to Great Distance would be sufficient without mention of the cast and co-creators: Garrett Storms, Christopher Ramirez, Mitchell Stephens, Tatiana Lucia Gantt, and Kelsey Milbourn. This piece has numerous physical demands as well as quiet, nuanced moments and clever physical comedy; all coalescing into an experience transcending by far, the sum of its parts. The buzzy Christmas rush of holiday errands, the cheerful surprises of raising a child, the monotony of earning our daily bread, the scariness of tackling the insanity that comes tumbling our way. This jazzed, frenetic, convivial, and playful band of actors dive in with radiant aplomb. Too often there is a discrepancy between what we hope for, and what our Christmas needs to be. The Great Distance Home aims to close that gap and kindle that elusive miracle we call (dare I say it?) enchantment. Go. Be delighted. Be surprised.

WaterTower Theatre presents: The Great Distance Home, playing November 23rd-December 16^th, 2018. 15650 Addison Road, Addison, Texas 75001. 972-450-6232. http://www.watertowertheatre.org.

Each year The Dallas Theater Center stages A Christmas Carol, the familiar story by Charles Dickens, with a particular spin. A unique interpretation. This year the radio stations started playing Christmas music two weeks before Thanksgiving. For that same reason, I have a theory to explain some of DTC’s choices this year. As some of you may have noticed, our country has been beleaguered and besieged by intense, divisive politics for awhile now, and (if I may be so bold) it’s kinda knocked the mickey out of us. Our famished spirits yearn and ache for Yuletide encouragement, and DTC has come to the rescue, with this year’s version of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s personal journey to enlightenment.

For those unacquainted, A Christmas Carol is Dickens’ story of the angry, hostile miser, Ebeneezer Scrooge, a Money Lender who employs Bob Cratchit, his longsuffering and patient assistant. Inexplicably, Scrooge has nothing but contempt for Christmas, dismissing it as a day he must pay his staff for no work. Climbing into bed with his cost-effective bowl of gruel, he wakes to find the ghost of Marley, his deceased partner, wearing chains. Marley wanders the earth as penance for money grubbing when he might have been alleviating the suffering of the indigent. Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas future and Christmas present as well, where the deep rooted motives for his deplorable behavior are revealed. Graced with a newfound appreciation for the humanity he once forfeited, he embraces contrition and generosity.

The Dallas Theater Center’s production begins bleakly, set in a sprawling, grotesque Industrial Revolution sweatshop, run by destitute men, women and children. The familiar exposition in which Scrooge shares gasp-worthy, unconscionable opinions such as: “Are there no prisons…workhouses?…If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”, comes in due course, and quickly. They insert generous helpings of carols, hymns and ballads. The songs are vivid with jovial merriment and rollicking dances. The famous scene in which Scrooge confronts the gravestone of Tiny Tim is replaced by a funeral for the youngest lad of the Cratchit Family. The celebratory scenes are genuinely good-hearted and giddy, the bathos, restrained, and Scrooge’s anger, mostly petulant and short-lived.

Any show we see, no matter the content, is shaped by artistic vision, and it seems appropriate that DTC would emphasize the misery of those who must struggle, considering the social upheaval that has plagued our politics for so long. The allegory is unmistakable, combined with an earnest attempt to articulate the brimming warmth and jubilation that once made Christmas a reliable respite, instead of a litany of errands and chores. The proper balance of emotions, coupled with conscientious consideration of take-away are not always easy to gauge. We make an event of theatre, because we trust it to understand the exhilaration of extremes. But that being said, the joyful tears and effervescence was welcome and redemptive.

The Dallas Theater Center presents: A Christmas Carol, playing November 21st-December 30^th, 2018. Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. 2400 Flora Street, Dallas, Texas 75201. 214-880-0202. http://www.DallasTheaterCenter.org.

Fanny (Jennifer Kuenzer) Alexandra (Barrett Nash) and Mary (Marisa Diotalevi) are explorers who set off together, with no involvement with men. Not even natives to do the heavy lifting. It is the late 1800’s and these three bold and intrepid women are determined to conquer terra incognita, i.e. unknown land. It’s the not the first time at the rodeo for any of them, so they pool their intellectual resources and embark, defying the presumption that women are helpless on their own. Wearing no-nonsense attire (with the possible exception of skirts) khaki, boots and pith helmets, they make their way through extreme climates and terrains. Mary is the most practical of the three, Fanny the most traditional, and Alex (the youngest) the most fanciful. They take photographs, make slides, and nosh upon foods both exotic and familiar. They swap stories of their adventures in various, forbidding corners of the globe.

As the narrative advances, Alex, Mary and Fanny find themselves suffering from some type of heat exhaustion. They are faint, vertiginous, delirious. This event serves as a portal, as they discover they aren’t only traversing geography, but time. Their hunger for the unknown, for the as yet concealed, has led them into the future. Coining the term “osmosing” they receive (like radios) signals from popular culture as yet foreign to them. Words and phrases like: liquid paper, cool whip, frisbee, jello…They also encounter “The Man of Many Guises” (Jeff Burleson) who appears as Alphonse, Grover (Fanny’s husband) The Yeti, Mr. Coffee, Nicky Paradise… The apparitions and unforeseen phenomena come faster and thicker. Gas stations, discos, casinos, malt shops, convertible sportscars. Alex and Fanny meet gentlemen that excite and intrigue them, tempting them to leave the safari, after prolonged and arduous participation.

There’s an underlying sense of giddiness and amusement to playwright Eric Overmyer’s On The Verge or The Geography of Yearning. It’s not that he doesn’t take these affable ladies seriously, but there seem to be sly hints at the comical. After it’s all said and done, what is Overmyer’s takeaway? By the time Alex and Fanny find their soulmates (or playmates?) they have demonstrated their ability to thrive without men to “complete” them. But then why bring men into the picture at all? Overmyer appears to be exploring the function of men in Mary, Fanny and Alex’s lives. But also that convergence of “feminine” energy, yields more access to the metaphysical and intuitive. In On The Verge, Director Susan Sargeant, Diotalevi, Kuenzer, Nash and Burleson, et al, created an entertaining blend of the whimsical and the mystical, the grueling and effervescent.

Wingspan Theatre Company in cooperation with The Bath House Cultural Center presented On The Verge or The Geography of Yearning. It played from October 4th- October 20^th, 2018. 521 E. Lawther Drive (at North Cliff Drive) Dallas, TX 75218 at White Rock Lake. 214-675-6573. http://www.wingspantheatre.com

Imagine the shock, when Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, premiered on Broadway in 1979. Certainly audiences weren’t expecting a frolic (though “A Little Priest” could pass for one) but what they got surpassed the gruesome, off the charts rage, the demented premise of serial murder and unwitting cannibalism. Sondheim (Music and Lyrics) and Hugh Wheeler (Book) crafted a fable of sorts, seducing and convincing us that a sociopath (undeniably wronged by Judge Turpin and the caste system) is justified in his ghastly revenge. When his original plan to murder the Judge goes sideways, he decides that any murders will do. We are all guilty by way of our blackened souls. No sooner than we are persuaded that our “hero” has fulfilled some cosmic, karmic retribution, everything collapses. We have succumbed to temptation, only to find we were wrong all along. We have been hoodwinked, and it’s delicious.

Roughly, Sweeney Todd returns from a long voyage, parting ways with Anthony Hope, a sweet-natured lad who saved his life. Sweeney is soured and embittered, chiefly because his wife was kidnapped and sexually attacked by Judge Turpin, who used his leverage to subsequently imprison and exile Sweeney. He befriends Mrs. Lovett, who bakes the “worst meat pies in London”, and quickly takes a shine to Sweeney. Using an alias, he establishes himself as a superior barber, using his access to privacy and his “magic” straight edged razor (“…my arm is complete!”) to murder his clientele. Todd and Lovett gleefully surmise that baking his victims into pies, corresponds with mankind’s figurative (if not literal) cannibalism. Their venture is a sprawling success. Suddenly, no one can get enough of Mrs. Lovett’s pies.

Lip Service’s production of Sweeney Todd (that ran November 15^th -18^th, 2018) was ingenious. Considering the requirements of the script, they made strategic use of the space, making room for the orchestra, tonsorial emporium, oven and nefarious chair. The ensemble was ghoulish and intense

(…swing your razor high, Sweeney”). Jenny Tucker’s world-weary, smitten Mrs. Lovett, provided a formidable foil to Jason Leyva’s damaged, toxic Sweeney, injecting much needed comic respite. Sweeney Todd is a demanding musical, from Sondheim’s unorthodox score to Wheeler’s smooth blend of indignation with the diabolical. Director Shawn Gann orchestrated a cast, musicians and crew that were jazzed, focused, versatile and stoked like a locomotive.

Lip Service presented Sweeney Todd. The Firehouse Theatre. 2535 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch, Texas 75234. (972) 620-3747. www.thefirehousetheatre.com