A musical isn't a musical without the music, but Henry Valoris (senior-music) has taken on the challenge of eliminating the pit orchestra from a musical.

Instead, Valoris has created a concert performance of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with a full orchestra. Valoris is staging the performance as part of his Schreyer Honors College undergraduate thesis and said he wanted to do something a little different from the typical written form of a thesis.

Sweeney Todd was written by Hugh Wheeler, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and tells the bloody but humorous story of the revenge a disgruntled London barber seeks on a world he feels has done him wrong.

As a musician himself, Valoris said he has always been attracted to the music of the show, as well as the dark humor it presents. These factors, Valoris said, were paramount in his decision to use the show as part of his thesis.

"The show is hilarious to my taste, and everything works so well together. The music is amazing. It's a masterpiece of musical theater," he said.

As a viola player, Valoris said he has been a part of many productions in which only a pit orchestra has been used. Usually, he said, the first instruments to be replaced with the synthesized versions on a keyboard are the stringed instruments.

Valoris said he wanted to allow all of the intended instruments to be a part of the show. Brent Fisher (junior-music education and flute performance) is the principal flutist in the production and said he was excited when he learned Valoris would be using a full orchestra.

"With a chamber orchestra, the show is a totally different experience. Even people who know the show will appreciate that this is being done differently," he said.

The effect of the full orchestra is similar to listening to a soundtrack, Fisher said. Valoris purposefully made the performance about the music, hence the name, Sweeney Todd in Concert. There are no props, sets or costumes. The music is the main focus, Valoris said.

Valoris and Fisher, as well as the other cast members, said they believe audience members will be impressed by the level of music created by the performance. Cast member Danya Katok (senior-music and sociology) said that because there has never been anything like this at Penn State before, the reactions should be very positive. "I think they'll be wowed," she said.

Bringing together an entire orchestra and cast for the performance was no easy feat, Valoris said.

"It was a challenge to get people involved. A lot of the orchestra members know me, and that helped, but the cast is made up entirely of volunteers," he said.

Because this is part of his senior thesis, Valoris will be graded on the process of creating the performance and said he has been keeping a written journal following every rehearsal. There have been only a small number of rehearsals, he said, but the show has come together well.

"We've only had 10 rehearsals to put this together. It's quite an accomplishment for everyone involved," he said.