One Paragraph Review: Sweeney Todd at Paramount Theatre

Paul-Jordan Jansen plays Sweeney Todd and Bri Sudia is Mrs. Lovett in Paramount Theatre’s Sweeney Todd-The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Filled with thrills, terrors and ravishing beauty, this pitch-black musical comedy, with a score by Stephen Sondheim, is about an English barber who murders his customers with a straight razor and, with his accomplice, processes their corpses into meat pies. Performances are February 8 through March 19, 2017 at the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora. For tickets and information, go to ParamountAurora.com or call (630) 896-6666.

You love it or you hate it apparently. I bloody loved it. I loved every sweet juicy morsel of “Sweeney Todd” at Aurora’s Paramount Theatre. Too much? Not for me. Dark, beautifully scored musicals — more please! I loved the dark-hued, multi-tiered set that (sometimes loudly) screamed symbolism. I adored the female leads: Bri Sudia as Mrs. Lovett is equal parts endearing, witty, and sinister; Cecilia Iole as Johanna gorgeously adds the opera; and Emily Rohm as “Beggar Woman” is such a pleasure to watch and hear. The men hold their own and deliver strong performances in their muted fashions (standing O for the costume department). Paul-Jordan Jansen is unflinching as Sweeney Todd, Patrick Rooney as Anthony Hope is incredibly believable, and Anthony Norman as Tobias gives one of my favorite performances. I might have to see the show a dozen more times just to see the impressive skill involved in the number “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir.” If you’re one who says you don’t like “Sweeney Todd” because it’s not your style, then you’re missing out on Jim Corti at his best. I ate it up.