Sweeney Todd, Color Purple plays showing during October

A deranged barber obsessed with revenge in Victorian London. A young Black woman about to embark on a journey of self-discovery in the American South during the first decades of the 20th Century.

One would be hard put to identify two tales more disparate than “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” and “The Color Purple,” the two plays opening in Gainesville in October.

Indeed, perhaps their one commonality is that both are musicals.

“Sweeny Todd,” was chosen by the Acrosstown Repertory Theater as the perfect play to kick off the Halloween season. It will run from Oct. 13 to 29.

“It’s a very popular show for such a dark subject,” says Andrea Young, ART president. “Word is mouth is already getting out and we’re getting a lot of interest. It’s a great show for Halloween.”

Sweeney Todd

“Sweeney Todd” arrives in Gainesville by way of a theatrical pedigree that far predates Stephen Sondheim’s 1973 hit musical. Indeed, Sweeney’s character has been trodding the boards since at least 1865.

Before that, the story of a man railroaded by a crooked judge banished to Australia and returned to London bent on bloody retribution was the popular subject matter in the so-called Penny Dreadfuls, cheap but sensational Victorian publications.

“Sweeney Todd” is often considered a metaphor for the cruelties of the Industrial Revolution.

“Conditions were brutal and horrendous, but people would do anything they could to survive, eating rotten meat and even breaking open bones to eat the marrow just to live,” said Young.

In other words, ask not the origin of “the worst meat pies in London.” All will be made perfectly clear in due time.

ART has assembled a cast of 13 for “Sweeney Todd,” including, unusually, two different actors - Justin Clement and Thomas Sanders - who will take turns wielding Sweeney’s infamous razor in alternate performances.

“Both of them had some conflicts, but it’s also an incredibly difficult role to play vocally,” she said. “So we decided to give them some days off.”

Young herself will be playing Mrs. Lovett, maker of the aforementioned suspect meat pies. In other key roles, Dennis Clement will play the judge, Lola Bond the beggar woman, Devon Hutchinson as Sweeney’s rescuer Anthony, and Lacy Patton as Johanna. Calypso May is the director.

“I love it that the main characters are all kind of bad people,” said Young. “The villain is always more interesting than the bad guy.

“This is usually talked about as a revenge story, but really the characters are all trying to get what they want at any cost. The question is how far will they go?”

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The Color Purple

The Star Center Theater decided to perform “The Color Purple: The Teen Edition,” in anticipation of a new movie version of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, due to arrive in theaters in time for Christmas. Star Center performances will take place from Oct. 7-14.

“Since they are redoing the movie, we felt like we wanted to talk about ‘The Color Purple,’ again,” said Rhonda Wilson, Star Center director.

As the subtitle indicates, “The Color Purple: The Teen Edition” is an all-teenage production. The cast consists of 18 students from various Alachua County high schools.

And although the original book has been the subject of some controversy in American schools, Wilson said this play has been “tailored down for teenagers and school students.”

“The book itself is more graphic than the movie or the play,” she said. “The book has often been challenged, but there’s no reason to challenge the play.”

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The play follows 14-year-old Celie as she leaves an abusive home life, enters into marriage and eventually finds herself immersed in the juke joints and blues houses of the just budding Jazz Age.

“The play is focused on how she finds herself with the help of her friends. How she finds what she needs. It’s kind of like the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ because she realizes on the course of her journey who she is.”

Wilson said she hopes the students who perform in and see the play will come away with “the understanding that people go through things and can’t stop in the middle. If you just look for  strength, it’ll come from places you never thought of.”

And as older members of the audience: “I hope they find characters they can identify with, Celie or Harpo or the others, and perhaps go on to help somebody else find their way.”

For play times, ticket information and venues, check the ART’s website and the Star Center’s website.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Sweeney Todd, Color Purple plays showing during October