items tagged with Krianna Walljasper

Odd as it may seem now, there actually was a period in the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s history – a run of 12 shows, to be precise – in which the company didn’t produce any musicals whatsoever. Yet after staging a dozen plays between June 2008 and May 2009, co-founders Tristan Tapscott and Chris Walljasper chose to open the theatre’s second season with a production of Jonathan Larson’s rock musical tick ... tick ... BOOM!

When the cast for the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was revealed several weeks ago, I’ll admit I was concerned. While I’d previously admired the work of most of the actors, I wasn’t sure they were up to the tasks of the roles they’d been awarded – chiefly Tom Walljasper, cast as the titular barber. While Walljasper excels at comedic roles, I worried that, with his smirking, tongue-in-cheek style of delivery, he wouldn’t be able to carry the dramatic weight of Stephen Sondheim’s killer character. But after seeing Thursday’s opening-night performance, I’m pleased to admit that I was wrong. Very wrong; Walljasper’s ability to handle the role was apparent with the first lyric he sang, which carried with it a dark, sinister, intense appeal.