For four days only, March 4-7, the Nicholls Players will perform the musical comedy “Sweeney Todd the Barber” in Talbot Theater. Stanley Coleman, the director of the show and other past performances here at Nicholls, is at it again, and this time has brought a farcical, Victorian melodrama to our stage with nightly shows on March 4-6 at 7:30 p.m. and a final matinee showing on March 7 at 3:00 p.m.

There might be those out there who shivered when they read that this was a musical, but be not afraid because according to Coleman, this is not a full-scale musical; there are no more than five songs in the entire four-act play.

Yes, I said four acts. Now calm down for just one second and let me explain. The play is written as four acts, but the show still only lasts a little under two hours. “The four short acts are put together with one intermission to run like a two-act play,” Scott Fremin, an English senior from Schriever who plays the role of Sweeney Todd, said.

“Sweeney Todd the Barber” is about a demonic barber who murders with a passion the customers who come for “a close shave.” To destroy the bodies, he has Mrs. Lovett, played by Elizabeth Holcomb, a junior in marketing from Morgan City, grind them up and use the remains as the filling for her meat pies, which she sells to her unsuspecting customers.

While this may sound a bit graphic and gory, there is no need to hire a babysitter unless the child cannot behave for two hours. The musical, in keeping with the style of Victorian productions, shows little violence, most being slapstick with all the murders just mentioned and not acted out. Plus, the language is mild and contains little sexual innuendo.

“It’s equal to a Disney film. I have a seven year-old coming to see me, and I’m not worried. I would say it is safe for all children but 10 and up is better so they won’t misbehave,” Fremin said.

The show is said to be “very energetic and lively,” according to Scott Fremin and “comical and exaggerated,” according to Coleman. What will you and I think? I encourage you to go see it to find out on your own. From what I have seen of the production thus far, despite all the problems they have had with scripts coming in late and having to recast some roles again this semester, I think it will be a hit with all who see it.