You may go to the Old Rochester Regional Drama Club's latest performance with an appetite … but you're unlikely to leave with one.

"Sweeney Todd,” a decidedly dark musical with an equally macabre sense of humor, opens April 9, and it’s seems to have given several student actors a taste for playing the villain. Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler wrote the thriller, set in 19th century London.

The play centers on Sweeney Todd, a happily married barber with an infant daughter. A corrupt judge lusts after Todd’s wife and sends the innocent barber to prison to get him out of the way. He escapes 15 years later with revenge on his mind.

Originally named Benjamin Barker, he assumes the alias Sweeney Todd and returns to his shop, located above the meat pie maker Mrs. Lovett. This time around though, “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is more interested in cutting throats than hair, and it’s not long before the ingredients for Mrs. Lovett’s pies become less than kosher.

“I hope people get scared. I hope there’s that fear element, and they get that emotional response from it,” said Emily Faulkner.

A junior at ORR High School, Faulkner plays Mrs. Lovett, who conceals Todd’s murders in her meat pies.

The role is, to say the least, a departure for Faulkner who also had parts in “Seussical” and "A Christmas Story."

“It’s really fun to get in touch with that part of yourself,” she said. “I’m never going to run off and bake people into pies, but it’s fun to pretend that I do.”

Kyle Costa plays the murderous Sweeney Todd and said he’s enjoyed exploring his darker side, too.

“I have played creepy but not evil,” said Costa, also a junior. “It’s very challenging. I think I’ve gotten used to it.”

Director Paul Sardinha says just as students have embraced the story, so will audiences.

“People love the show because of the comedy,” he said.

With nine lead roles and lively songs for the chorus, the play was a good one for the drama club’s many members. There are 60 students in the onstage chorus and more than 100 working behind the scenes.

“We needed a show that fits the kids that we have,” Sardinha said.

The play's 50 musical pieces make the play a challenge for students.

“There’s an awful lot for them to get under their skin,” said Sardinha.

Speaking of getting under people’s skin, Sardinha said he isn’t concerned about the play being too dark for high school.

“It is not at all as gruesome as many of the games the kids play,” he said. “It’s also a wonderful lesson about revenge and how it can destroy a person, literally.”

There’s something to chew on.

“Sweeney Todd” will be performed at the the ORR auditorium.

The show will run Thursday, April 9 through Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for students and seniors and $15 for adults. They may be purchased at The Pen & Pendulum in Mattapoisett, The Marion General Store and Plumb Corner Market in Rochester.

The production is under the direction of Paul Sardinha with costumes by Helen Blake, sound by John Farrell and musical direction by Michael Barnicle.

For information and ticket reservations, call 508-951-5302, tickets may also be purchased at the door.