The Glenwood Vaudeville Revue typically performs sketch comedy and small songs. This fall, they are trying something a little darker. On Friday, they opened up their production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”. Aspen Public Radio’s Patrick Fort spoke with director John Goss about how his theatre company is changing what they do.
On performing darker and moodier writing…
“It’s extremely difficult musically, even more than I thought initially...Stephen Sondheim was trying to make a statement with the rhythm and the music and the lyrics to almost make a point to make this a really tough show...It has got so much meat and dirt and grit it. Sondheim throws in these brilliant comedic moments of gore and death.”
Mixing the show’s comedy and darkness…
“There are many watered-down versions of ‘Sweeney Todd’ to make it not as edgy or dark or as mature, but we’ve gone in the opposite direction. We’re keeping all the comedy aspects because that’s the brilliance of the show. We’re not pulling away at all from the real darkness of it — the lust, the righteousness and the power.”