Stephen Sondheims gorgeously disturbing Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street hits the stage with an astonishing score, strange, bloody story of revenge and, of course, icky meat pies. About as dark as a play can get, this show is one of the most memorable in the entire canon of the American musical theater. We first meet the central character years after hes been wrongly accused in the brutal court system of Victorian England. Hes lost his family and everything he loves. Naturally, hes pretty angry. With his barbers razor in hand, he sets about trying to reset the scales of justice and loses his mind along the way. Its bleak stuff for a musical, but thats what makes Sondheim so powerful. 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Through June 15. Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-629-3700 or visit www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/Houston. $23 to $61.
Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Starts: June 3. Continues through June 15, 2008
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2008.