With the opening weekend shows playing on April 27 to April 29 and this week’s shows playing from this Thursday to closing night on Saturday, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” astounded Mission Hills audiences. Preparation, rehearsals, and hard work throughout the winter and early spring up until the musical led to the famous production’s success.
“We have a lot of talented people involved, and the best part for some of them [is that] this is their first show and this one rivals some professional shows that I’ve seen. I’ve had several audience members tell me this is one of the best shows they’ve ever seen,” said director Dana Carr.
With the musical’s complex props and set pieces, it isn’t surprising that the show turned out so well. The show’s lead, senior Caleb Wohlgemuth, says that “Sweeney Todd” is one of the most phenomenal musicals ever written.
“My personal favorite part of the musical is the opening number. I think it sets the stage for the musical extremely well, showcasing how the emotions [and] mood flip on a dime. It’s also just a fun scene to watch,” said Wohlgemuth.
Many actors took on unique roles and adapted to the darker nature of the musical. Unlike more cheery musicals played in the past such as last year’s “Mamma Mia!”, these distinct characteristics of “Sweeney Todd” had embraced adjustments for those involved.
“My role as Judge Turpin was a very new kind of role for me. I had never played an unlikeable character before. Compared to previous roles, this is also one of the larger roles I’ve had in a musical. This production has also been much more professional than most shows I have been in; it was very fun to experience new acting techniques and technical challenges,” said sophomore Isolde Del Pego, playing the role of Judge Turpin.

The total amount of work put into the wonderful musical resulted in a distinct and memorable spectacle—even the ensemble was able to achieve an astonishing performance, leaving the audience with goosebumps, as intended.
“For Sweeney Todd, ensemble is a large part of the musical. I’m so happy with the end result, being on stage and performing has helped me see how much the 5 months of work everyone has put in paid off,” said freshman Alex Elam, a part of the musical’s ensemble.
Bound to startle audiences and leave them in awe, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is truly the fruition of the labor that went into the production. All of this week’s shows start at 7 p.m. and tickets can be found on gofan.co. Updates on the production and future drama developments can be found on Instagram @mhhsgrizzlytheatre.