Sweeney Todd (East West)

February 19th, 2006
East West Players/Downtown L.A.
Musical, went with Troy

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with an all-Asian cast! We were impressed by the talent and the polish.

Ronald M. Banks was perfectly cast as Sweeney, with a voice as rich as a basoon. He was ideal. Timothy Ford Murphy as Anthony had a strong and lovely tenor. Wonderful. In fact, most of the men were impressive. And Kathy Villaneuva as Lucy the Beggar Woman had a powerful voice that filled the theatre. The rest of the principal women were weak, but entertaining.

There were moments when this production was spot on, gritty and captivating, Broadway calibre, but other moments were less tight. Still, it was an admirable and professional production, despite a few weak voices (I have a hard time over-looking this as it is a light opera). It's also in our top 5 musicals.

Our first show at East West. We're definitely going back!