Auditions

Information on this page was updated on 23 June 2009

SWEENEY TODD
The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler

 Directed by Donnie Baillargeon
Musical Direction by Don Boroson
Choreography by Jennifer Condon
Auditions:
Sunday Aug 2 (7:00 - 10:00 PM)
Monday Aug 3 (7:00 - 10:00 PM)

Other audition times may be scheduled by arrangement.
Call backs will be held Tuesday night August 11. The final cast list will be announced no later than noon on Saturday August 15.

For your convenience, notification of callbacks and casting is always posted on a voice answering machine.

These Auditions are by Appointment Only !
For more information, please e-mail the producer at sweeneyvokes@verizon.net

To make an appointment, please call (508) 358-4034 (mailbox #3), and leave a message with your name, number and preferred audition date and time. You will receive a call back with a confirmation of the exact time.

Place:
Auditions and performances are held at Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre, 96 Boston Post Road (Route 20) Wayland, MA.

Directions

Prepare:
24 bars of a ballad of your choice that best shows your vocal range and power.
Rehearsals:
About three to four evenings a week (Sunday - Thursday) depending on the availability and preferences of the cast.
Performances:
Every Thursday - Saturday evening Oct 29 - Nov 21, 2009 at 8:00 PM (and Saturday matinees on Nov 7 & 14 at 2:00 PM).
About the musical:

Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is that rare instance of a musical thriller. Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding, tragic-comic masterpiece tells the infamous tale of the unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking vengeance against the lecherous Judge Turpin, who framed him and ravaged his young wife. His obsession for justice quickly becomes thirst for blood expanding to include his unfortunate client base, while the resourceful Mrs. Lovett, proprietress of the pie shop downstairs instantly has the people of London on their feet, queuing in droves to sample her delectable new meat pie recipe!

At what price justice? At what cost success?

Sophisticated, macabre, visceral and uncompromising, Sweeney Todd nevertheless has a razor sharp sense of humor, dripping with torturous suspense and brilliant wordplay. The story kneads intense drama with howlingly funny moments of dark humor as it permits us to savor the magnificent obsessions that lie within each character.
Cast of Characters
Sweeney Todd cynical, morose, brooding, eventually consumed with a thirst for blood. Obsessed with vengeance, this barber by profession exacts revenge through his razors by systematically slitting the throats of those who might cross his path as he stalks his ultimate prey. Strong bass-baritone.
Mrs. Nellie Lovett hard-edged, worn-down, slatternly woman with a sense of humor; a pragmatic, pie shop keeper on Fleet Street; Sweeney’s willing and most certainly not unwitting accomplice. Mrs. Lovett enables Sweeney in his massacre by baking meat pies from the remains of his victims. Strong alto or mezzo-soprano.
Judge Turpin arrogant, corrupt, lustful, immoral. The official responsible for Sweeney’s downward spiral and the object of the barber’s inexorable obsession. Strong bass-baritone.
Johanna Barker pure-hearted, chaste, sheltered ingénue; a ward of the Judge; driven to a touch of “cabin fever” as a result her years of seclusion. Sweeney’s daughter and unquestionably her mother’s daughter. Strong soprano.
Anthony Hope a young naïve sailor, befriended by Todd on the voyage home; good natured, optimistic; smitten with Johanna. Strong tenor or bari-tenor.
Tobias Ragg youthful, simple, kindhearted and vulnerable lad; an orphan, he has become Pirelli's young assistant. He is the ‘eye’ through which this story is viewed. Strong tenor.
Beadle Bamford a minor city official; supercilious; serves as the Judge’s fawning right-hand man; a corrupt bully with a veneer of gentility; subtly maniacal and at times outright terrifying. Strong high tenor.
Adolfo Pirelli a flamboyant faux-Italian-esque traveling salesperson/scam artist; long-winded, brazen and pompous. Strong high tenor.
Jonas Fogg stern master of the Asylum for the mentally insane. Strong Baritone.
Ensemble energetic, adaptable, versatile and fun; functions as a “Greek Chorus”; the crème of musical ensembles; a wide variety of roles will be created by this ensemble including but not limited to city dwellers, officers, officials and lunatics. Solid musicianship with strong vocals in addition to the ability to play multiple characters. All voices. Women: (5 -7), Men: (3-5)