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MY THEATRE WEEKEND
- Paul Adler, Chief Theatre Nerd
Sweeney Swings Back
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Okay, it’s true: tickets went on sale for the revivial of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on September 6th, 2022, at 10:00AM, and by 10:02AM, I had two tickets in my basket and was checking out of Ticketmaster — even though the show doesn’t open for 6 months.
Sweeney Todd was one of the first Broadway shows I knew from front-to-back — and was obsessed with — when I was a kid. I still have the original album of the show (yes, on vinyl!) that I listened to as a youngster, and still play it from time to time. (Surprisingly, it’s not horribly worn out some 30 years later!) It remains my favorite Stephen Sondheim show (though Company is a close second).
I only ever got to see the original production with Angela Landbury on video (I believe it ran on PBS and I recorded it to VHS), but I did see the incredible John Doyle-directed 2005 Broadway revival with Patti Lupone and Michael Ceveris, which was fantastic (and which won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical that season). In that production, many of the supporting cast members were also musicians playing the score from the stage while performing key roles — a concept which director Doyle would re-visit in subsequent productions, including his Sondheim revival of ASSASSINS for Classic Stage Company in 2021.
Driving my enthusiasm for this new 2023 production of Sweeney is, of course, the first casting announcements of Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. What a great role for Groban to tackle (playing a dark, marauding murderer against his usual nice-guy image), and how perfect Ashford is as the quirky, comedic and somewhat tragic role of Mrs. Lovett. Both require excellent vocal chops to deliver Sondheim’s most challenging score, and both are up to this task.
Top that off with Tommy Kail (Hamilton) coming in as director, reuniting with Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller… and I’m in!
I can’t wait!!
MY THEATRE WEEKEND
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