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‘Menacingly good time’ at CLC
The Mazzetti brothers of Lake Zurich are Mario (left) who plays Adolfo Pirelli and Dino, who plays The Beadle in CLC's "Sweeney Todd."
‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon
Barber of
Fleet Street’
College of Lake County, James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake
7:30 p.m. on July 20-21, 27-28, and at 2 p.m. on July 22 and 29
Tickets: $16 General Admission; $13 for CLC/Senior/JLC Subscribers. An opening night special ticket price of $10 will be offered on Friday, July 20 to all CLC students, staff and alumni. Prices include a $1 per ticket JLC facility fee
Box office hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (847) 543-2300 or online at www.clcillinois.edu/tickets
Note: This production contains mature themes, including sexuality and violence, and is not appropriate for children age 12 and under. For more information, contact director Craig Rich at crich@clcillinois.edu or (847) 543-2567
A 4-minute promotional video for “Sweeney Todd” can soon be viewed at the CLC Theatre Dept. Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CLCTheatreDepartment or on the CLC YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/clcpublicrelations
Article Extras
Updated: July 17, 2012 9:55PM
Kelley Combs can finally cross something off her bucket list.
The Mundelein native plays the scheming Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim’s chilling musical, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” which will be performed by the College of Lake County departments of theater, music and dance July 20-29 at the Grayslake campus.
“Playing the role of Mrs. Lovett has been on my bucket list since I saw my sister play the role of Johanna when she was 16 years old,” said the 31-year-old Highland Park special education teacher. “I’m in love with the music, the complexity of the character and the fun that I get to have on stage.”
The complex musical compositions combined with the intriguing story line will be performed by a cast of 44 amateur and professional actors, CLC students and community members joined by a professional orchestra of 18.
“‘Sweeney Todd’ is a story filled with love, deception, murder and redemption,” Combs explains. “You will find yourself laughing in your seat one minute and horrified by the states of events in the next moment. As Stephen Sondheim has said, ‘Sweeney Todd’ is a horror movie for the stage.”
Craig Rich, director of “Sweeney Todd,” co-chair of the theater department and associate professor at College of Lake County, said the show tells the tale of an unjustly-accused man transformed by grief into the murderous Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Becoming a demon
After 15 years in exile, Benjamin Barker returns to London under the new identity of Sweeney Todd, seeking to punish those who took away his beloved family. Sweeney and his enterprising accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, cook up a shocking plan packed full of sweet revenge and deliciously dark humor, he said.
“The music, I think, is just brilliant — it’s complex, very emotional — the music really is just another character in the show,” said Rich, who cast what he described as smart singers who could handle the complex music often featuring six-part ensemble harmonies. “So much of the emotional tone of the piece and story line is driven by the music. I think this is a show for people who appreciate musical theater and for people who just appreciate music, they will appreciate this show because it’s really stunning.”
Playing the title role,
David Lundholm of Waukegan is a 30-year theater veteran of the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, the Apple Tree Theatre in Highland Park and Drury Lane South in Evergreen Park. He’s joined by Ross Kugman of Lake Forest who portrays Anthony Hope and the Mazzetti brothers — Dino and Mario of Lake Zurich — who perform the villainous roles of The Beadle (Dino) and Adolfo Pirelli (Mario).
Dino Mazzetti, 27, who teaches music and choir at Nippersink Middle School in Richmond, is a 10-year theater veteran. “My character is sort of the ‘Under Boss’ in the show, and carries out the evil deeds of Judge Turpin,” Dino Mazzetti explains. “In the show, Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford are the main antagonists to Sweeney Todd.”
“It was Dino who convinced me to do the show,” said Mario Mazzetti, 23, also an experienced actor. “He wanted to perform and Jean [Hersey, musical director] asked us to audition. I also really love the music and the character I play is outrageous and fun.”
Mario Mazzetti’s Pirelli is one of the many obstacles in Sweeney’s path, he explains. “It’s an intense musical thriller with delicious music and an incredibly talented cast,” Mario Mazzetti adds. “It’s a menacingly good time. I really hope the audience enjoys it as much as we enjoy performing it.”
“You know, ‘Sweeney Todd’ is a lot more than just a musical thriller,” adds Mac Myles, 18, a recent Lake Forest High School graduate who portrays one of his “dream roles” as Tobias Ragg, also known as Toby. Myles explains his role is a simple-minded young adult who is just looking to be loved but he makes up for his brains with his kind-hearted nature. He is so loyal to the people that he trusts that it starts to get him in trouble.
Corrupted kid
“It really makes for an interesting twist when his child-like sense of morals is completely compromised as the audience learns how quickly one can become consumed with revenge and obsession,” Myles explains.
“Yeah, you have the blood and the horror elements, but you also have really interesting relationships between the characters,” Myles said of the production. “They deal with dark themes like revenge and obsession but there is a love story at the root of the show. You will find yourself laughing a lot more than you’ll expect seeing the ‘demon barber of Fleet Street.’ You mix such a fascinating story with incredible music and you’ll get a show that you won’t want to miss.”
