NOW
SHOWING
New Orleans Songstress And Nashville Stage Veteran
Headline Sweeney Todd
Lasers, concert lighting and surround sound may not have
been a part of the famous legend of Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street when it was first brought to stage by playwright
George Pitt in 1847, but the current production of Steven
Sondheim's musical version at The Nashville Dinner
Theatre invites them
in.
The
Nashville Dinner Theatre, which accounts for 80 percent of
the annual revenue for The Senior Center for the Arts,
located at 108 Donelson Pike, will kick off its fourth
season February
8 with the Tony Award-winning musical that inspired the
recent Tim Burton film which starred Johnny Depp in
the title role
of Sweeney Todd.
SCA's
Founding Director Kaine Riggan, who directs the production,
promises some top-notch talent and a "lighter" take
than Burton chose with his film. "The music is the
masterful element in this piece, not the blood," Riggan
admits. "I
loved the film, but I don't know that squirting blood
is what I want to see after dinner and cherry pie."
"Sweeney Todd is actually quite funny on stage," admits
Music Director Jeff Hall. "I am glad to see Kaine
take a lighter approach to it. This really will be a
great kick-off
for their season."
The show won an impressive eight TONY awards when it
opened on Broadway in 1979. The plot follows a disillusioned
London
barber named Benjamin Barker, who changes his name
to Sweeney Todd to devise a revenge plot against the
Judge
who falsely
imprisoned him in order to pursue the affection of
Barker's beautiful young wife.
Riggan said more actors than ever before auditioned
for this production. The selected cast features over
30
powerful
voices from all over Middle Tennessee. Among them are
Dan McGeachy as Sweeney Todd, Nancy Hawthorne as Johanna,
Ron
Cushman as
Beadle Bamford, Ben Gregory as Anthony, and 14-year-old
Markus McClain as Tobias.
"It
makes me proud for this organization, too, that the principle
cast in Sweeney Todd is as diverse as it is," Riggan
shares.
The lead female, Mrs. Lovett, is played by Jewel
Lucien, a New Orleans cabaret singer who moved to
Nashville
after Hurricane
Katrina. Lucien also played Effie in last year's
production of Dreamgirls at The Nashville Dinner
Theatre and Mama
Morton in The Renaissance Center's production of
Chicago. She is
also joined by Asian singer/actress Mercy Patawi
as The Beggar Woman,
a true powerhouse of a vocal role.
All
performances of Sweeney
Todd include a four-course
dinner and show
for only $20. It runs Thursdays thru Saturdays
at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm February 8 - 24. Dinner
is served one hour prior to
those show times.
The
menu, all donated by Shoneys, includes tomato-basil soup,
garden salad with a raspberry vinaigrette
dressing, grilled
boneless chicken breast, green beans, mashed
potatoes and gravy, Shoneys' signature breadsticks,
dessert, tea and Starbucks coffee. Salmon, vegan or
vegetarian options are also available
for an additional $5.
In addition to single tickets for Sweeney Todd,
2008 Season Tickets are selling out fast. Six
dinners and six shows
throughout the year are only $99 including Sweeney
Todd, Mame, The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer, HonkyTonk Angels (Nashville
premiere), Faith County and A Scattered,
Smothered & Covered
Christmas Musical. Season ticket subscribers
get VIP seating at each show. Tickets
may be purchased in person at 108 Donelson
Pike, by phone at (615) 883-8375 or
online at www.NashvilleDinnerTheatre.com
Photo by Hatcher & Fell Photography
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HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF OUR RECENT PRODUCTIONS
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