3 La Mesa Teens Have Roles in Francis Parker Production of ‘Sweeney Todd’

Three young La Mesans have parts in a theater production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street later this month at Francis Parker School in Linda Vista.

The local students are junior Megan Allcock, who will play Johanna Fogg; junior Evan Bramberg, sharing the role of Beadle Bamford; and and sophomore Jay Gardenswartz, sharing the part of Adolfo Pirelli.

The Upper School Theatre Department at Francis Parker, under the direction of drama teacher Gordon Cantiello, will showcase 15 students in five performances of Sweeney Todd.

The shows are at 7 p.m. Jan. 19-21 and again on Jan. 27, with a Saturday matinee finale set for 2 p.m. Jan. 28. All five shows will take place in the Galli-Curci Performing Arts Center on campus of the private school, which also has a campus in Mission Hills.

This thriller tells the story of a 19th-century London barber driven on a murderous rampage after suffering injustice at the hands of the evil Judge Turpin.

The play is set after Sweeney Todd (played by senior Matthew Margulis) has left a penal colony where he was wrongly incarcerated. He forms a dark partnership with Mrs. Lovett (played by fellow Mission Hills resident Katie Kreitzer), a proprietress of a struggling pie shop. Together they embark on a revenge-filled time centered around dubious meat pies.

Ticket are $15 for adults, $10 for students and can be had via e-mail. Contact gcantiello@francisparker.org or call (858) 569-7900 ext. 4155.

A Francis Parker news release contributed to this report.