Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd, played by Kristina Temple and Stephen Rushing,
concoct a twisted plot to solve Lovett’s financial problems.
The Lions Roar / Olivia Moreno

Hammond residents were subjected to murder, cannibalism and romantic duets during the Opera/Music Theatre Workshop’s production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” 

The musical, directed and choreographed by Alton Geno, was performed at the Columbia Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 25 and Friday, Sept. 26.

The tale of the bloody barber is based upon the Broadway production by Harold Prince. The musical recounts the tragic life of Benjamin Barker, a barber under the alias of Sweeney Todd. Todd, played by vocal performance professor Stephen Rushing, lived on Fleet Street with his wife and infant daughter Johanna. Todd’s wife was raped by Judge Turpin, played by Brent Goodrich, who then banished Todd to prison and took custody of Johanna. 

Rushing found it difficult to relate to a deranged serial killer, but was able to draw upon his experience with depression to put himself into the role of Sweeney Todd. 

“I personally have had a history of depression many years ago, and I knew very quickly that Sweeney was a guy who certainly was depressed,” said Rushing. “I couldn’t relate to the levels of anger that he related with, but drawing upon the couple of times in my life when I got angry enough to pick up something and throw it, I drew upon those personal experiences and said, ‘OK, what would I do? What would that feel like?’ and tried to bring that into the character.”

Upon Todd’s return from prison, Mrs. Lovett, played by Kristina Temple and Analynn Sober, informed him of his wife’s suicide during his imprisonment. Grief-stricken, Todd sought revenge against Judge Turpin. Mrs. Lovett, who was facing financial hardship, needed a cheap supply of meat for her pie shop. The two arranged a maniacal scheme to slit the throats of Todd’s customers and grind their meat into pies to sell in Mrs. Lovett’s shop. 

The macabre humor and risqué themes of the musical drew a large audience. Attendees particularly appreciated the dynamic between lovers Anthony Hope, played by Benjamin Vollentine, and Johanna, played by Lauren Gibson and Michelle Guillot. 

“Their chemistry was amazing,” said Katelyn Jones, senior marketing major. “You would almost think they were in a relationship outside of the play. You could just see it in their faces.” 

Vollentine said his chemistry with Guillot was partly due to their attending high school together. While they enjoyed working together, they had to work through some awkwardness during the romantic scenes, particularly for the song “Kiss Me,” where Guillot had to “climb on top of” him, according to Vollentine. 

“We’ve known each other for a very long time,” said Vollentine. “When we found out we were opposites, we were excited and shaken at the same time because we were going to have to get closer than we already were.”

While some were impressed with Rushing’s vocal performance, they felt his acting skills left more to be desired.

“There was a song toward the end of Act I called ‘Epiphany’ where you see his big breaking point, and he completely loses his mind and decides he’s going to go on a murder spree. I feel like [Rushing] was kind of going through the motions, and he wasn’t emotionally invested in it,” said Samantha Barnes, sophomore general studies major who had previously performed in a theatrical production of Sweeney Todd. “He was more focused on giving a good vocal performance, not necessarily an acting performance.”

After the show, the performers received a standing ovation, kickstarting the beginning of Southeastern’s Halloween season.

Johanna and Anthony Hope, played by Dana Arthur and Benjamin Vollentine,
sing a romantic duet during their first meeting.  
The Lion's Roar / Olivia Moreno