FLEMING ISLAND – The Island Theatre will be performing “Sweeny Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street” opening Friday, Oct. 30, through Nov. 8. The shows will run Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then Thursday through Sunday the following weekend.

Daniel Osofsky is the director of the production.

“We auditioned on Aug. 2,” said Osofsky. “We’ve been going almost exactly three months from when we open.” The show is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, including a 15-minute intermission.

Four members of the cast are local high school students. One of those attends Clay High and another attends Fleming Island. Anyone 14 or older was able to audition for the show, due to the mature subject matter that Sweeny Todd entails.

Todd is a barber from Fleet Street who murders customers with a straight razor and then gives their corpses to his partner-in-crime, Mrs. Lovett. She then bakes meat pies from their flesh.

The production is perfect fit for Halloween.

“It’s a great Halloween, ghost story, dark humor; it’s a fun show,” said Osofsky with a chuckle. “It is definitely murderous. We kept it as family friendly as you can with murder.”

Tricia Williams has been the managing director for the Island Theatre since it opened three years ago. She is also a teacher at Fleming Island High.

“We’re a 501-C [nonprofit organization], so our mission is theatre education,” Williams said. “That’s our whole mission. So when we put on shows with the local talent, with the students, as well as adults who’ve never been able to do something like this before, we’re educating the community. Our youngest actors are like four or five, and I believe we’ve got one in the lobby right now, who’s rehearsing who’s like 75.”

Sweeny Todd will be a challenging show for the actors according to Williams. The challenge comes not only from managing the subject matter and learning the lines as with any performance, but in doing so while adhering to health and safety guidelines for everyone involved.

“They were cast because they were actually able to learn new ways to interpret the material,” said Williams. “Especially right now with COVID [19]. They had to practice with masks and face shields and then they still had to use all of their energy and all of their acting so that way the audience still gets it.”

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the show will be at 7:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. on Sunday.