Music Showcase Stages Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (The High School Version) At The Barn Theatre At Winthrop(June 5-7 and 12-14, 2009) - # - MyPaperNow.com

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It’s a community affair as more than 60 students from various Hillsborough County high schools bring to the stage the high school version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Remaining show dates are Friday, June 12, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 13, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10.

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Cast members of the Music Showcase Players production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The show is triple cast and staged at the Barn Theatre at Winthrop in Riverview, Fla. Show dates: June 5 and 12 at 7 p.m.; June 6-7 and 13-14, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The show is directed by Miguel Oquendo. Musical director is Thomas Desmond. Cesar Razza is the stage manager and assistant to the director.

The show features a cast of 31, a stage crew of five, and an orchestra of 22. Many of these teen performers, musicians and technical crew members have worked with Oquendo over the years in a wide range of shows, including Parade, Pirates of Penzance, Jekyll & Hyde, and Beauty and the Beast.

Roles in the play have been both double- and triple-cast, with Zach Pearson and Andy Tekampe (above) sharing the title role throughout the production’s 10-show run.

“Words can’t describe how fun acting is, being on stage and acting and singing and dancing,” said Tekampe, who graduated in June from Newsome High School. “It’s just a big thrill for me. I’m definitely going to pursue this.”

Zach Pearson, backstage, in costume as Sweeney Todd.

"Last one, it's going to be all out," he said about his performance in the title role for the last of the group's 10 productions. Pearson, an incoming senior at Newsome High School, said he has been in five shows with the Music Showcase Players, and each one was directed by Miguel Oquendo.

"I want to thank him for the large impact he has had on my life," Pearson said. "And how much he has affected the way I live my life on a day- to-day basis. Letting his positive attitude wear off on me makes me appreciate life more."

As a director, "he works efficiently and quickly and always finds a way to motivate us before performances."

Mahaillie Griffith, left, as Mrs. Lovett, with Autum Allard, as Johanna.

Annie Connally, as the Beggar Woman, in the Music Showcase Players production of Sweeney Todd.

“I’ve loved all of it, every moment,” director Miguel Oquendo said of his many shows over many years with the Music Showcase Players. In all, he has directed 19 shows over six years for the full-line music and performing arts academy. "It’s my passion and it’s amazing to see how these guys grow and become what they become.”

As for his latest production, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Oquendo said: “I wanted to do a dark show with blood. I just wanted to see a lot of blood in this show.”

Indeed, the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, adapted for high school thespians, centers around the tragic character of Benjamin Barker, a middle-class barber arrested on false charges by a judge who seeks the barber’s young wife for himself. The play centers around Barker, now known as Sweeney Todd, as he uses his barber’s chair to exact revenge for the losses of his wife and daughter, Johanna.

But more than the plot itself, Oquendo said he was drawn to this 1979 Stephen Sondheim musical, based on the 1973 play written by Christopher Bond, because of Sondheim himself.

“The fact that it’s Sondheim, that makes this a different show,” Oquendo said. “Sondheim likes to work with a lot of dissonance and difficult music.” As for his students, Oquendo said, “I want them to experience the darkness that the music can bring and realize, still, how it can be beautiful.”

Rebekah Taylor, as Mrs. Lovett, in the Music Sowcase Players production of Sweeney Todd.

Cesar Razza, in his role as Pirelli, in the Music Showcase Players production of "Sweeney Todd."

With the Music Showcase Players, under the direction of Migue Oquendo, Razza said he has been in eight shows: Les Miserables, Aida, West Side Story, Parade, The Producers, Big, Beauty and the Beast, and Sweeney Todd.

"Miguel is a wonderful director," Razza said. "He knows how to grab talent out of people and throw it on the stage."

Mark Araya, as Pirelli, shaving Tyler Downey, as Anthony Hope.

Cast members of the Music Showcase Players production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The show is triple cast and staged at the Barn Theatre at Winthrop in Riverview, Fla. Show dates: June 5 and 12 at 7 p.m.; June 6-7 and 13-14, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The show is directed by Miguel Oquendo. Musical director is Thomas Desmond. Cesar Razza is the stage manager and assistant to the director.

The show features a cast of 31, a stage crew of five, and an orchestra of 22. Many of these teen performers, musicians and technical crew members have worked with Oquendo over the years in a wide range of shows, including Parade, Pirates of Penzance, Jekyll & Hyde, and Beauty and the Beast.

Music Showcase Players production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The show is triple cast and staged at the Barn Theatre at Winthrop in Riverview, Fla. Show dates: June 5 and 12 at 7 p.m.; June 6-7 and 13-14, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The show is directed by Miguel Oquendo. Musical director is Thomas Desmond. Cesar Razza is the stage manager and assistant to the director. The show features a cast of 31, a stage crew of five, and an orchestra of 22. Many of these teen performers, musicians and technical crew members have worked with Oquendo over the years in a wide range of shows, including Parade, Pirates of Penzance, Jekyll & Hyde, and Beauty and the Beast." href="javascript:openLB(625749349,'',XLarge,'',1024,718);">

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