The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!

So for the past four nights I’ve been one of the backstage hands for MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (two were dress rehearsals and two were performances). I am a fan of the show, and this production has got me totally excited, and I’ve only listened to it (I’m planning to see it next weekend)! The cast is amazing; we’ve got some amazing singers in the group, and the acting ability points have been distributed properly. (I do, in fact, feel confident in making such comments about the show despite having not seen it with my own eyes, because I’ve hung around the cast and been there for enough of the tech work that I can tell. Really.) The lighting design is impressive, the set is spectacular (my, Sweeney’s chair…mm, mm, good), the costumes are lovely … what more can I say? I am incredibly psyched to see it, and y’all should be, too! I am very glad that I’ve been able to be a part of the production. We even have delicious meat pies during intermission, made from priest, fop, or vegetarians.

If you’re not familiar with the story, let’s just say that it’s  the furthest from the standard G&S repertoire as we’ve gotten since my time with the group. This is totally a production that I would recommend for a first viewing, though the version with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn (which you can find on youtube or in the MIT music library) is amazing (it was my first).

Anyway, I should stop rambling and tell y’all when the remaining performances are:

• Thursday, August 12, 8:00 PM (*free* for MIT Students)
• Friday, August 13, 8:00 PM
• Saturday, August 14, 2:00 PM

I should note that the lights are more dramatic when viewed at night (meaning Thursday/Friday), and that next Friday is, in fact, Friday the 13th….