The instruments of his success

But for Doyle, 58, having actors double as the orchestra isn’t a “concept,’’ nor is it an attempt to make “cheap theater’’ by eliminating the pit musicians.

“It’s like saying that tap dancing is a concept. This is a tool. It’s a means to an end,’’ Doyle says during a recent conversation at a cafe on 42d Street in Manhattan, downstairs from the rehearsal hall where he’s prepping the American premiere of his Rodgers and Hart musical revue “Ten Cents a Dance.’’ The show, which he conceived and is directing, is at the Williamstown Theatre Festival through Aug. 28.

“Of course when people say ‘it’s a gimmick,’ there are two or three minutes when that hurts,’’ he says. “But most of the time I don’t give a [expletive]. You realize that it’s their problem, not yours.’’

The technique helps to crystallize the storytelling and heighten the emotional stakes. “I think you can take them to an imaginative place that they’ve not been to, perhaps in quite a long time,’’ Doyle says. “I saw Broadway audiences at ‘Sweeney Todd’ leaning forward to the story. And normally they’re sitting back from the noise.’’

Connecting the dots Born and raised in Scotland, Doyle had been toiling in the United Kingdom for years before his career rocketed upward as “Sweeney’ traveled from the tiny Watermill Theatre in the English countryside to the West End, then hit Broadway, capturing critical kudos and a Tony Award for Doyle’s direction.

In person, Doyle is a chatty, affable, and warm presence. Dressed casually in a summery red button-down, a silver cross dangling around his neck, the white-haired Doyle fosters an easy intimacy in conversation, though he’s mum when it comes to discussing his private life.