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<P class=36Timesbold style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><STRONG>Murderous
production worth the wait<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=Blurbsubhead style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><STRONG>Yearlong
delay of Lakeland’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Sweeney Todd</I> may
only have helped<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>2/13/09</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Like a fine cabernet
placed in the cellar and left to age, time has been good to Lakeland Community
College’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street.</I><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>A year after this
production’s postponed opening, director Martin Friedman’s creative vision for
Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece of a musical is fully fermented.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His featured players and large ensemble
have matured and mellowed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
result is an intoxicating concoction. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Sweeney Todd</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> tells the tale of a homicidal barber
out to revenge his wrongful imprisonment and the destruction of his family.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Set in 19<SUP>th</SUP> century London,
Todd whittles away at his clientele as the fruits of his labor are processed
into meat pies and sold by Todd’s delightfully demented landlady, Mrs.
Lovett.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Todd lies in wait until the
Judge that set this madness in motion walks through his door to receive the
closest shave he’s ever had.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Friedman chose to stage
this production within the confines of a surreal criminal court, nicely designed
and dramatically lit by Trad Burns.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Here, the juried ensemble — living and dead — watch along with the
audience and weigh the evidence, as if witnessing a re-enactment of the original
crimes and all that led up to them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This approach creates a
bit of confusion and cluster when action taking place in this arena is intended
to be played out on different levels of Todd’s abode. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Nonetheless, the notion of a staged
re-enactment is clever and affords Friedman the creative license to go beyond
the scripted melodrama.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He probes
the implications of the story’s blatant acts of aggression and takes some risks
by exposing their impact on the psychological well-being of the characters.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Dan Folino depicts a
vulnerable and somewhat sympathetic Sweeney Todd, which is a far cry from
traditionally stoic or maniacal portrayals.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Always a confident actor and
exceptionally gifted singer, particularly when tackling dark and dramatic roles,
Folino has acquired a newfound sophistication and complexity (and an equity
card) over the past year.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His
Sweeney is superb.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Lindsey Sandham not only masters
Sondheim’s </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">sophisticated</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> lyrics and operatic score but, as
Todd’s estranged daughter Johanna, has the acting chops to manage the humor in
the song “Kiss Me” and the emotional turmoil Friedman has added to the mix.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A year at Baldwin Wallace
College has fine-tuned an already marvelous
performer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Also marvelous are Connor
O’Brien, as Johanna’s love interest and featured tenor Anthony Hope; Thomas
Love, as bad man Beadle Bamford; and Josh Theilan, as rival barber and comic
relief Senior Pirelli. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>An adult
Brian Altman is absolutely wonderful as innocent Tobias Ragg, Mrs. Lovett’s
assistant, a role typically played by a young boy.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Alison Garrigan starts
off cool but quickly turns up the heat as the manipulative Mrs. Lovett, while
Douglas Collier’s cruel Judge Turpin is a sublimely slimy but lukewarm
rendering. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many in the 14-piece
ensemble are veteran performers and several have played together in other
productions in the year before <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Sweeney
Todd</I> finally came to fruition.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>This experience shows, for they move as one and understand the
significance of the support they provide this complicated production.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Costuming by Craig Tucker
and phenomenal orchestration under the direction of Larry Goodpaster add
additional layers to this must-see, much-awaited production of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Sweeney
Todd</I>.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Lakeland
Theatre’s </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Sweeney Todd</SPAN></I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:
</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> continues at
7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays through February 22 at
Lakeland Community College, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which are $13 for adults
and $11 for students and seniors, call (440)
525-7526.<o:p></o:p></I></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>