Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler

Clarence Brown Theatre in collaboration with The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra 2012

Director: Calvin MacLean
Musical Director: Maestro Lucas Richman
Set Design: Kevin Depinet
Costume Design: Miwa Ishii
Lighting Design: Kenton Yeager
Sound and Projection Design: Joe Payne

It’s not every day you get a thirty-eight piece orchestra on stage in regional theatre musical productions.  It definitely turned this production into an epic masterpiece.  The “projection surface” existed in the design as meat locker strips of plastic, but was intended to be lit as a cyc.  The director suggested the use of the blood spash motif on these strips after a generous donor thought a high-end Barco projector might be of use to The Clarence Brown Theatre. We never looked back.

“Sound design has advanced so far in the theater that productions like Sweeney Todd, where diction is key, are virtually impossible without it. Joe Payne’s voice reinforcement and the subtle environmental effects, were clean, natural, and transparent.”  – Alan Sherrod, Metro Pulse

Sweeney Todd Projection Design Demo by Joe Payne.  Production stills, combined with video of the actual projection sequences.

Audio clips of the live mix are not included due to Actor’s Equity restrictions, and live recordings do not accurately represent the theatre space.

Please check with producing organizations if interested in quality of the mix, which I proudly stand behind.

Block Diagram, Sound Plot, Speaker Plot,

_{Photos by Kenton Yeager. Actors include: Dale Dickey as Mrs. Lovett, and Jeff Austin as Sweeney Todd.}