Diverse cast brings fresh approach to Sondheim classic 'Sweeney Todd' at Trinity Rep

All it took to arouse Erick Pinnick’s enthusiasm was a call to audition for the lead in Trinity Repertory Company’s production of “Sweeney Todd.”

He credits the dark musical, about a man seeking revenge after being falsely imprisoned, with sparking his artistic journey as a youth. Trinity, which originally cast Joe Wilson Jr. in the role, was looking for a new face after Wilson was named director of Providence’s Office of Art, Culture and Tourism late last year.

Pinnick, a Baltimore native who hasn’t been on Trinity’s stage for years, received a call.

“I immediately thought, ‘Hell, yeah!’” he says. “I was so excited to just audition for this role. Being cast was a dream come true.”

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He first saw the stage version with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury in the early 1980s and remembers feeling amazed at the breadth of a live production and the powerful songs by composer Stephen Sondheim.

“It showed what the theater can do,” Pinnick says. “The music was so intense. That was actually my introduction to Sondheim.”

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What's the plot of 'Sweeney Todd'?

Set in Victorian England, the story centers on barber Sweeney Todd, who was wrongfully convicted and sent to prison by a corrupt judge who was lusting after Sweeney's wife. The barber returns crazed with anger and then grief when he learns that his wife died by suicide after being raped by the judge. Intent on revenge, the man dubbed the “demon barber of Fleet Street” slices the throats of men in his chair, sending the bodies to the shop of his landlady, who grinds them into meat pies.

Sweeney, played by Johnny Depp in the 2007 film, is “complicated” but relatable, Pinnick says.

“I can understand the rage if someone did your family so wrong. When I was first cast, I remember being in the dressing rooms for ‘Evil,’ thinking about sitting in jail for 15 years and how the rage can build in you, especially if you’re unjustly accused,” he says, referring to the CBS/Paramount+ show he has worked on. “Even though he is doing something so wrong, the audience feels empathy for him. The judge is actually raising his daughter, which takes the insult to a whole new level.”

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Reinterpreting the Stephen Sondheim classic through a modern lens

Digging into a character’s persona is how an actor gives a complete, believable performance, Pinnick says.

“Every role comes, in part, from you. I can find the anger and frustration, especially as a Black man,” he says.

Much of the cast assembled by director Curt Columbus is of color, which Pinnick says gives it a different feel, highlighting how people of color are often targeted unjustly.

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Illustrating that frustration is one of his favorite lines, in the show's first scene, when Sweeney arrives back in London from prison and tells a group of younger people, “You are all young. Life has been kind to you. You will learn.”

Sondheim’s music lends the show a macabre yet lively and flamboyant feel, Pinnick adds.

“It’s exciting to tackle this material and see more people of color in the cast,” he says. “There are intense moments in the show that flow to lighter ones, bringing the audience from one extreme to another. It’s a fun ride!”

If you go ...

What: "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Where: Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence

When: Through June 25

Tickets: $26-$92

Info: trinityrep.com, (401) 351-4242

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Diverse cast offers fresh take on 'Sweeney Todd' at Trinity Rep