Sweeney Todd to open at Springer

Adam Clough has played some interesting roles at the Springer Opera House.

He has portrayed Billy Bigelow in “Carousel” and Captain Hook in “Peter Pan.”

The actor returns to Columbus after an absence of seven years to handle the lead in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” which he considers a bucket list role for him.

Johnny Depp played the part in the film version of the show.

Sweeney Todd opens tonight and runs through March 13.

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, well known for his work on shows such as “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” the show won the Tony Award for best musical on Broadway.

A New York Times review in 1979 said of Sweeney Todd, there is more artistic energy in Sweeney Todd than a dozen average musicals.

The story is a dark one. A quiet London barber named Benjamin Barker, who was unjustly exiled and jailed for 15 years von trumped up charges, returns home, slips into his old neighborhood and assumes the name Sweeney Todd. With the help of a pie shop owner, Mrs. Lovett, he cooks up a plan to exact revenge on the judge who banished him.

The musical melodrama uses suspense on a grand scale.

To play Mrs. Lovett, Kristen Metcalfe returns from Chicago, where she has been acting and studying, to the theater where she made her professional debut.

Her Springer credits include “Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing,” “Honky Tonk Angels,” “High School Musical” and “Oklahoma.”

Trish Epperson who pleased Springer audiences with her portrayal of Cosette in “Les Miserables” and Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins” is also in the cast.

According to a press release from the Springer, another star of the show is the set which is called a “technical marvel.”

Not only must it recreate 19th Century London, it also needs a slide so that Todd’s victims can drop to Mrs. Lovett’s meat pie shop below.

The set is a collaborative effort between the Springer and Tin Vinson’s welding classes at Columbus Technical College and Jordan High School.

If You Go:

What: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Where: Springer Opera House on 10th Street in Columbus.

When: Evening shows will Feb 25, 26, 27, March 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 at 7:30 p.m. Matinees at 2:30 p.m. will be March 6, 13.

Tickets: Adult tickets are $45. Tickets for seniors (60 and above) are $38. Tickets for teachers, military personnel, fire department and police department personnel are $38. Tickets for students and children are $20.

Purchase: The box office is open 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and two hours before a show. For more on tickets call 706-327-3688 or visit www.springeroperahouse.org.

Parents: Parental guidance is recommended because of violence.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Sweeney Todd to open at Springer."