Confession: I’ve got a low tolerance for gory movies. So I was bummed when the Sweeney Todd movie came out last year—the story sounded interesting, the film looked gorgeous, and I wanted to see Johnny Depp sing. But after polling everyone I knew who saw it, I had to cross it off my list of must-sees—it’s not worth the ticket price if I’m watching a movie with my eyes closed half the time.

But bring on the stage version! I didn’t know what to expect, blood wise, when I headed to the Keller Auditorium last night to check out the touring Broadway show. Worst case scenario, though, I figured we were in for some theatrical spurts, which I can totally handle. And I’m 16 rows back, so it’s not like I’m getting a close up of a slit throat.

The bloodletting was even tamer than that, though: Instead of gushing jugulars, the stage lights go red and a character—usually Mrs. Lovitt—pours blood from one white enameled bucket into another. Very symbolic, very palatable. Hell, I was almost disappointed.

I also wasn’t expecting the ten member cast to play their own musical instruments. With the exception of the guy playing Todd, who gets to focus mainly on his role, every other character spends more time playing the cello, keyboard, violin or clarinet off to the side, while the action takes place in the middle. It’s impressive to see such versatility and talent in each actor—but it’s also a little distracting.

The set’s also quite simple, with a handful of chairs, a coffin that doubles (triples? quadruples?) as a judge’s pulpit, a table, a barber stand, a bar, etc, etc, and a full stage height bookcase filled with scene setting knick knacks. I was hoping to see the oven Mrs. Lovitt uses to bake her pies (and Mr. Todd uses to bake something else), and the rigged barber’s chair Todd uses to quickly dispose of bodies. Instead, the actors made use of the set in more creative ways. They don’t use the whole stage, though—the action is all very tight in the center (that photo above shows almost the entire set). I had a great seat, but found myself wanting to be even closer to see it all in detail.

Overall, the show’s exactly what you’d expect from a big Broadway production—great talent, perfect execution, pricey tickets. It’s showing at the Keller this week only, and a few shows are already sold out—get your tickets now if you want to see it. Or, rent the movie’s newly released DVD. I think I might be ready to see that now—I know exactly when to close my eyes.