BS
Benjamin Swanson
  • music
  • Class of 2019
  • Crystal Lake, Ill.

Benjamin Swanson helps stage "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" at UW-Whitewater

2016 Feb 8

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is a musical thriller that tells the tale of an exiled barber who returns home to London to seek revenge on the man that destroyed his life. With a little help from his downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Lovett, Todd gets revenge in his own unique and gruesome way.

"It's a musical-slasher film, basically," said Jim Butchar, director. "I love it because everything works together so well with the music, the underscoring and the acting. It's the classic boogeyman story."

Benjamin Swanson, a freshman music major from Crystal Lake, Ill., performs in the ensemble in the production.

With the music and theatre/dance departments collaborating on this musical, the audience is in for a real treat with this showcase of talent.

"It's nice to have a mix of both theatre majors and music majors work together. Like

any musical it's a lot of coordination. It's a tough production to do. The singing is tough. All of the dialogue has underscore," said Butchart.

Over winter break, the cast put in eight hours of rehearsal a day just to learn the music. Once classes resumed, the cast began blocking the scenes and staging the play, putting in up to 20 hours a week.

The musical opens at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, and continues through Saturday, Feb. 27.

For more information, including tickets, visit:

http://www.uww.edu/cac/theatre-dance/sweeney-todd