Review: 'Sweeney Todd' a cut above for Theatre Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - “Sweeney Todd” is a major triumph for Theatre Cedar Rapids.

Stephen Sondheim's daring musical of love, revenge and insanity in seedy 19th century London opened to cheers, wild applause and an immediate standing ovation from Friday night's capacity crowd. The show runs through March 26. Snap up tickets while you can.

This is one of the most cohesive productions I've ever seen at the theater, and shows why this troupe is a cut above the competition. I can't imagine any community theater staging this show at all, let alone doing it any better. Every element works in tandem to breathe life into what is essentially the Demon Barber of Fleet Street's nightmare from beginning to end.

All of the stunning visual, visceral aspects are a perfect match for the massive talent onstage, moving deftly through a musical maze of stunning sound effects crafted by music Director Janelle Lauer and her small, tight orchestra.

A stunning group of newcomers to the TCR stage embody the major players and make the supporting characters memorable, hilarious and horrifying.

Leading the group is Daniel Kelchen as Sweeney Todd, a man wrongfully banished to life imprisonment by a judge (TCR veteran Michael Cervantes) who wants to take Todd's beautiful wife and infant daughter as his own. Todd escapes, is rescued at sea and returns to exact revenge and reclaim his life, instead leaving murder and mayhem in his wake.

Kelchen's imposing figure is terrifying at every turn, yet soft and sad in a couple of key moments with his business partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, who churns his victims into delectable meat pies that fly off the bakery shelves. Piper Pack-Smith - new to Cedar Rapids but not to operatic, theatrical realms - plays her role with delicious abandon.

Both have glorious voices and commanding forms that complement each other, as Lovett's soft, round edges smooth Todd's sharp, looming form.

Jay Burken as Italian barber Pirelli and Nick Williams as the unctuous Beadle Bamford light up the stage every time they saunter into a scene, with stylized swishes as different as night and day.

In a show that could easily be an exercise in tension throughout, it's hard to tell if the moments of comic genius come from the playwright's pen or Director Leslie Charipar.

Regardless, they're all welcome, allowing the audience to exhale with delight.

Bravo to everyone onstage and behind the scenes who have staged this garish musical so magically.