sweeney todd broadway tour

“ Ravishingly sung, deeply emotional and strangely hilarious. Sondheim’s masterpiece, restored to its proper size, makes a welcome Broadway return. ”

“ A riveting revival with big laughs and serious scares. Attend the tale—you won’t regret it. ”

“ A triumphant, must-see production. Funny, scary, and disarmingly moving. A Broadway horror story of murder most tasty. ”

“ Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served. Sweeney Todd may well be the greatest of all Broadway musicals. Thrilling. A feast for the ears. Dig in. ”

“ JOSH GROBAN makes himself over into a full-blown, and fully developed, Broadway star. His Sweeney is by turns sympathetic and monstrous. ”

“ ANNALEIGH ASHFORD’s Mrs. Lovett is a performance to attend, if ever there was one. She wins a laugh on almost every line. ”

“ Ravishingly sung, deeply emotional, and strangely hilarious. Sondheim’s masterpiece, restored to its proper size, makes a welcome Broadway return. ”

“ A riveting revival with big laughs and serious scares. Attend the tale—you won’t regret it. ”

“ A triumphant, must-see production. Funny, scary, and disarmingly moving. A Broadway horror story of murder most tasty. ”

“ Groban and Ashford ignite the flames of a funnier, sexier Sweeney Todd . A strapping revival…that sings us into everlastingly blissful submission. ”

“ Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served. Sweeney Todd may well be the greatest of all Broadway musicals. Thrilling. A feast for the ears. Dig in. ”

Christopher Bond

From an Adaptation by

Christopher Bond is the author of more than 30 plays, adaptations, books for musicals & opera libretti including three melodramas: Sweeney Todd , Dracula , and Maria Marten . He was Artistic Director of the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres in Liverpool, and the Half Moon Theatre in London’s East End. He directed the original West End productions of Blood Brothers and Trafford Tanzi , and has done five productions of Sweeney Todd in the UK and abroad. Most recently he directed a new version of Bizet’s Carmen in Sweden, for which he wrote a new libretto relocating the story to Mexico City on the Day of the Dead. He is currently writing a series for television, “The Big Hit”; a thriller, “Exit Wounds”; and the book and lyrics for a musical, The Rappers’ Opera. 

Featuring a 26-piece orchestra with

Jonathan Tunick

Orchestrations by

Jonathan Tunick was Stephen Sondheim’s orchestrator of choice, orchestrating nearly all of his musicals, including Company , Follies , A Little Night Music , Sweeney Todd , Into the Woods , Passion , and Merrily We Roll Along , plus A Chorus Line , Nine , A Gentleman’s Guide , the recent Carousel, West Side Story , and The Music Man . He was Composer/Conductor for six motion pictures, plus the TV classics “Murder, She Wrote” and “Columbo.” In 1997, he received the first Tony given for orchestration, elevating him to “EGOT” (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status. In 2009, Jonathan was inducted into Broadway’s Theater Hall of Fame.

Alex Lacamoire

Music Supervision By

Alex Lacamoire (he/him) is a four-time Grammy, three-time Tony, and Emmy Award winner for his work on Hamilton , Dear Evan Hansen , In the Heights , and the FX miniseries “Fosse/Verdon.” His other credits as Music Director, arranger, and/or Orchestrator include The Wrong Man (Off-Broadway), Bring It On , 9 to 5 (Drama Desk and Grammy noms), Wicked , Bat Boy, and Godspell (2001 National Tour). He also served as Executive Music Producer for many films, including The Greatest Showman , In the Heights , Vivo , Dear Evan Hansen , and tick, tick…BOOM! Endless admiration for our paragon, Stephen Sondheim. Love to Mom, Dad, Little Sis, and his wife, Ileana.

Steven Hoggett

Choreography by

Credits include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Broadway, West End, International); A Beautiful Noise , Angels in America , The Crucible , The Last Ship , Rocky! , The Glass Menagerie , Peter and the Starcatcher , American Idiot (Broadway); Once , The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (West End, Broadway); Let the Right One In , Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland); Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Light Princess (National Theatre). As Director: Burn (National Theatre of Scotland); Social! (Park Avenue Armory), Close to You (New York Theatre Workshop, West End).

Thomas Kail

Directed by

Broadway Directing credits: Hamilton , Freestyle Love Supreme , In the Heights , Lombardi , Magic/Bird . Off-Broadway selected Directing credits: Hamilton , Dry Powder , Tiny Beautiful Things , Kings (The Public Theater); The Wrong Man (MCC Theater); In the Heights , Broke-ology , When I Come to Die (Lincoln Center Theater); Daphne’s Dive (Signature Theatre). Broadway Producing credits: Derren Brown: Secret , Freestyle Love Supreme . Television directing and Producing credits: “Up Here” (Hulu), “Hamilton” (Disney+), “Fosse/Verdon” (FX), “Grease: Live” (Fox). Graduate of Wesleyan University.

Attend the Tale

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street  played its final Broadway performance on May 5, 2024. Directed by Tony Award ® winner Thomas Kail ( Hamilton ) and choreographed by Olivier Award winner Steven Hoggett ( Once ,  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ),  Sweeney Todd  was hailed as a  New York Times  Critic’s Pick, “a triumphant, must-see production” ( Chicago Tribune ), and “a riveting revival with big laughs, serious scares, and a thunderous 26-piece orchestra” ( Entertainment Weekly ).

Sign up to receive news and updates

Privacy policy, what information do we collect.

We collect information from you when you register on our site, subscribe to our newsletter, or fill out a form. When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, physical address, and/or telephone.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in connection with contests, promotions, advertisements, inquiries, surveys, newsletters, e-news, and/or other site features.

How do we protect your information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information.

Do we use cookies?

Yes. (Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser [if you allow] that enables the site or service provider’s systems to recognize your browser, and capture and remember certain information.)

We use cookies to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We may share your information in connection with other productions, cultural institutions, and/or live events as well as with third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others’ rights, property, or safety.

Third-party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites.

CALIFORNIA ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT COMPLIANCE

We value your privacy and have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act.

Your Consent

By using our site, you consent to our online privacy policy.

Changes to our privacy policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.

Unsubscribe

If you would like to unsubscribe from our mailing list, please click unsubscribe.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us at this email address: [email protected]

Find anything you save across the site in your account

A Sonically Thrilling Revival of “Sweeney Todd” on Broadway

By Helen Shaw

“There’s a hole in the world / Like a great black pit / And the vermin of the world / Inhabit it,” a stone-faced Sweeney Todd snarls, after the enthusiastic sailor Anthony burbles at him about coming home to London. Their conversation is the first in the much anticipated Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” at the Lunt-Fontanne—and, particularly with Times Square just outside, the most relatable. The great black pit’s nearby, but we’re all pie-eyed Anthonys. There’s no scowl dour enough, no blood spurt red enough, to quell a theatre full of people eager for this new production of Stephen Sondheim’s beloved horror operetta, starring the pop-classical superstar Josh Groban as Sweeney and the Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford as his landlady, Mrs. Lovett. A twenty-six-person orchestra plays like mad under the stage, but the audience, on the verge of mob hysteria, provides its own dynamics, screaming before Sweeney’s razor ever catches the light.

We take our seats looking at the underside of a great bridge, a huge brick arch occupying most of the stage. The lighting designer, Natasha Katz, makes the night in this shadowy realm seem deeper with fog and moonlight—we’re down where the mud larks go, those who scavenge the Thames’s banks, looking for flotsam to sell. The director, Thomas Kail, and his choreographer, Steven Hoggett, start the show by making the ensemble seem to materialize from the blackness. “Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd,” the company sings, hauling Sweeney himself up out of the ground and hurling him toward us. His white face and ratty beard make him look like something that the mud larks have fished out of the river.

Sweeney is a nightmare barber who cuts his clients’ throats, sometimes for good reason, sometimes out of sheer homicidal exuberance. Mrs. Lovett adores him, not least because he’s useful for her pie-making business: corpses slide off his barber’s chair, down a chute, and into her bakehouse. (Meat’s expensive, she explains, and “them pussy cats is quick.”) The grim, exhilarating, Tony Award-winning 1979 musical—with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler—was inspired by a 1970 play by Christopher Bond, who fleshed out an iconic figure from the Victorian penny-dreadful tradition. Every production contains the source material’s doughlike flexibility. You can pat it (John Doyle’s small-cast, chamber-size iteration, from 2005); you can poke it (the Tooting Arts Club’s 2017 production, which crammed the audience into a tiny, purpose-built pie shop); you can even mark it with your script in hand (the New York Philharmonic’s 2014 concert version). It always works. That’s the thing about English music-hall entertainment, right, luv? It’ll make do wi’ whatever you’ve got.

The plot is a deliberately gamy melodrama. Sweeney Todd, having escaped from Australia after fifteen years’ exile there on a trumped-up charge, wants vengeance: the diabolical Judge Turpin (Jamie Jackson) and his slimy Beadle (John Rapson, deliciously corrupt) deported him to get to his beautiful wife, Lucy, whose sexual and mental destruction forms the story’s tragic linchpin. Turpin has taken and raised Sweeney’s daughter, Johanna (Maria Bilbao), and, when our cheerful sailor Anthony (Jordan Fisher) happens to fall for the now grown girl, the plot gears mesh. If you put the music to one side (you can’t, but say you could), you might notice that director Kail’s staging is a bit ragged. There’s some difficulty in hearing spoken text over underscoring, and the physical storytelling stumbles; for instance, the choreography for Lucy’s assault elides the particulars so much as to be unreadable. Kail, best known for directing “Hamilton,” does put his own stamp on the material—an elaborate letter handoff is one apparent bit of self-quotation—but he makes only a small impression. Sondheim’s sooty, sour-hearted music and lyrics are the things that etch themselves into your mind. And listening to a Broadway orchestra play, at full strength, Jonathan Tunick’s original arrangements is like getting musically mugged: whammo —you wake up in an alley surrounded by piccolos.

“He served a dark and a vengeful god,” the chorus sings of Sweeney. That’s not the rueful, slight, broken man we meet in this production. Groban’s exquisite baritone is so angelic, so carefully placed, that it draws back the curtains of the show’s own gloom. It also wouldn’t menace a mouse, so he cedes the show’s primary energy to Ashford’s hilarious version of Lovett, who’s ready to wreck their plans, the stage, the show as long as it serves her chaotic shtick. Playing the nutty Ernie to Groban’s neurotic Bert, she employs a combination of clown physicality (she bows to the judge halfway down the stairs, a posture that she maintains, bumpily, all the way to the bottom of the flight) and peripatetic zaniness; every time she pecks at the reluctant Groban, fluttering all over him, it looks as though someone threw a chicken in his face.

But, then, he’s at a theatrical disadvantage. In Mimi Lien’s set, Groban’s character is often “upstairs,” which places him on a platform, behind a sight-line-spoiling railing, while Ashford gets to prowl the stage lip. Up those dozen stairs, he seems miles away. Get him down by the footlights, though, with the company’s incredible sopranos shrieking their siren-high “Sweeney! Sweeney!,” and he’s in business. (This is a young and handsome cast, but only in one moment—when Groban grips Ashford by the jaw, dancing her backward—do you get a sense of how erotic and scary the pair might have been.) With the light-spirited Ashford pickpocketing scenes instead of stealing them, the main emotional weight is carried by the deranged Beggar Woman (Ruthie Ann Miles), a character who is cast aside with increasing brutality, and Mrs. Lovett’s little helper lad, Tobias (Gaten Matarazzo), who turns out to be the soul of the show. Miles and Matarazzo are both tremendous, but, again, Kail’s staging takes their big moments and muddies them—he keeps losing characters at various peripheries.

“Sweeney Todd” captures our secret fear of our neighbors: it makes the barber’s crimes lurid, so we don’t feel the city’s nearer, subtler cuts. But is it actually scary? Sonically thrilling, yes, but a frolicking Lovett and her sad Sweeney couldn’t, in the end, chill my blood. For me, a production downtown at the Connelly Theatre, the Bedlam Theatre Company’s presentation of Talene Monahon’s startling “The Good John Proctor,” managed to deliver a higher fright-per-minute ratio. The show is modest by comparison, with just four actors (Sharlene Cruz, Brittany K. Allen, Tavi Gevinson, and Susannah Perkins), all excellent, to “Sweeney” ’s twenty-five. Each embodies a figure familiar from Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”—the innocent girl playing with poppets, the woman outsider with mysterious wisdom, the religious hysteric, and the adolescent whose sexual relationship with John Proctor kicks off the whole Salem-witch-trial mess. The girls speak in modern argot, because, even though their work includes churning butter, there’s nothing old-fashioned about how the unseen, adult Proctor smashes through an eleven-year-old child’s trust.

Sarah Ruhl’s “Becky Nurse of Salem” also issued a tart feminist corrective to “The Crucible,” but Monahon’s play places its hand on a deeper set of powers, conjuring awful tensions out of the juxtaposition of girlhood and the abyss. Under Caitlin Sullivan’s confident direction, “The Good John Proctor” has the sense of palpable dread that “Sweeney Todd”—so grand and frequently sensorially ravishing—lacks. The girls talk a lot about going into “The Woods,” a source of forbidden knowledge, and there are certainly creepy scenes, lit by a single lantern, of them crawling through underbrush. They think they’re inching toward something dangerous, but we know that the lasting harm has already been done. I shook off the grimness of “Sweeney” only a few minutes after leaving the theatre; I will buy the cast recording (there will surely be one), but I’ll listen to it merrily. Monahon’s poison, though, still hasn’t worked its way out of my system. When she says the world is a great black pit, I believe her. ♦

New Yorker Favorites

First she scandalized Washington. Then she became a princess .

What exactly happened between Neanderthals and humans ?

The unravelling of an expert on serial killers .

When you eat a dried fig, you’re probably chewing wasp mummies, too .

The meanings of the Muslim head scarf .

The slippery scams of the olive-oil industry .

Critics on the classics: our 1991 review of “Thelma & Louise.”

Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker .

By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Tours To You

Your home for information about the touring broadway productions in north america, broadway’s ‘sweeney todd’ to begin national tour in 2025.

Producer Jeffrey Seller has announced that the Broadway revival of  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street   will launch a national tour in early spring 2025.

The tour, featuring Jonathan Tunick’s original orchestrations, will span both the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 theatrical seasons. Casting, dates, and cities will be announced at a later date.

“It has been an absolute thrill to conduct a 26-piece orchestra on Broadway, bringing Stephen Sondheim’s masterful music and Jonathan Tunick’s lush, original orchestrations to audiences at the Lunt-Fontanne,” says production music supervisor and Tony Award winner  Alex Lacamoire . “To bring that same sound on the road, we’ll be looking to the high-caliber locally-established musicians who have been waiting for the chance to play this score at this scale. We look forward to bringing this show and this music across the country, and I’m excited to work with the local musicians to tell Sweeney’s tale.”

The current Broadway production was recently nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Josh Groban), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical (Annaleigh Ashford), Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Ruthie Ann Miles), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Mimi Lien), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Nevin Steinberg), and Best Choreography (Steven Hoggett).

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s landmark musical tells the tale of a resourceful pie shop owner and a vengeful barber out for blood. After he’s sent away by a corrupt judge, Sweeney returns to London years later seeking his long-lost family, and forms an unlikely partnership with Mrs. Lovett, who serves up pies underneath his former shop. Together, they wreak havoc on Fleet Street and serve up the hottest – and most unsettling – pies in London.

Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoy this content, and want to help support the site, visit my Buy Me A Coffee page here .

Share this:

One thought on “ broadway’s ‘sweeney todd’ to begin national tour in 2025 ”.

• Pingback: Guide to the 76th Annual Tony Awards - Tours To You

Comments are closed.

Due to the adult nature of this show, please verify your age for access.

• Day DD 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
• Month MM Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
• Year YYYY 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900

Privacy Overview

Discover more from tours to you.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Advertisement

Supported by

Critic’s Pick

Review: The Many Thrilling Flavors of a Full-Scale ‘Sweeney Todd’

Sondheim’s masterpiece, restored to its proper size and sung to the hilt by Josh Groban, makes a welcome Broadway return.

• Share full article

By Jesse Green

How do you like your “Sweeney Todd” done?

Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the score, favored the musical thriller take: the one that focuses on gore and shock. Blood spouts everywhere when Sweeney, “the demon barber of Fleet Street,” slits the throats of his customers; when his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, grinds the corpses into meat pies, you wince at every crunch.

Also rather nice: the social critique version promoted by Harold Prince, the director of the original production in 1979. In that one, Sweeney, seen as a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution, isn’t so much a villain as a victim. The greed of the overlord class, mimicked by the grasping Mrs. Lovett, is what makes mincemeat of the proletariat.

Or perhaps you prefer your “Sweeney” intimate, with razors so close you recoil . Or psychological and stripped to the bone, with barely a set and Mrs. Lovett on tuba .

If there are so many worthy “Sweeney” options, that’s because the show isn’t just one of the greatest American musicals but several. Sondheim’s score, a homage to the sinister soundtracks of Bernard Herrmann, cannibalizes the book (by Hugh Wheeler) and the book’s remoter sources (a 1970 play by Christopher Bond, a 19th-century penny dreadful) until only their bones remain. But in return you get arias so beautiful, and musical scenes so intricately layered, that every possible genre seems to be baked inside.

Now comes a new special on the menu: the ravishingly sung, deeply emotional and strangely hilarious “Sweeney” revival that opened on Sunday at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. Starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, and directed by Thomas Kail, it has a rictus on its face and a scar in its heart.

The “gorgeously sung” part is no surprise with Groban, whose quasi-operatic pop baritone perfectly encompasses the range of the role, and whose technique makes sure every word is bell clear. That some of the songs are thus even prettier than usual is all to the better; Sondheim’s technique of setting the most grotesque moments to the most romantic music — as when, in “Pretty Women,” Sweeney prepares to murder the judge who raped his wife and abducted their baby daughter, Johanna — is beautifully served.

And though it can’t be said that Groban invokes terror, that’s partly the result of Kail’s attention to naturalistic detail within an expressionistic palette. Even dwarfed (and unfortunately sometimes obscured) by Mimi Lien’s awesomely vast sets, we always see Sweeney as a human being, albeit a strange one. Perfectly matching Sondheim’s first description of the character — “His skin was pale and his eye was odd” — he looks almost overexposed and, squinting throughout, as if he needs glasses. Some of the production’s humor comes from his growing resemblance to an impassive suburban husband whose job happens to be murder, as Ashford’s Mrs. Lovett tries to domesticate him.

But most of the humor comes from Ashford herself, a brilliant comic for whom comedy is not the end but the means. Her Mrs. Lovett — despite a tip of the wig to Angela Lansbury, who originated the role — is not the music-hall zany Lansbury created, but a brutal schemer for whom zaniness is a useful cover. As she hilariously enacts her romantic dramas with a noncompliant Sweeney, you see that she is also trying to protect herself from his mania by getting his mind off avenging his wife and reclaiming Johanna. Later, as the evil begins to crowd in closer, the jokes go dry on her tongue.

It’s a great, very specific performance — and very well sung — if occasionally pushed too hard histrionically and often too hard to hear. (Both she and Jordan Fisher, beamish as the sailor who falls in love with Johanna, seem to be under-amplified.)

That the rest of the cast is also so specific is a Kail trademark even more in evidence here than it was in his staging of “Hamilton.” The evil judge (Jamie Jackson), his oily beadle (John Rapson), a “half-crazed beggar woman” (Ruthie Ann Miles), a rival barber (Nicholas Christopher) and the barber’s abused assistant (Gaten Matarazzo, who sings an especially haunting “Not While I’m Around” with Ashford) all find curious ways, within the confines of the archetypes they must inhabit, of suggesting that the archetypes got that way for a reason. And as the grown-up Johanna, Maria Bilbao makes fascinating sense of an often-bland character by turning her into a bird, twisting with tics and scratching as if to escape the cage of her own skin.

These details help compensate for the extremity that has been somewhat leached from the title character. Steven Hoggett’s choreography, much more central than in other productions, has a similar effect, filling the stage with strange, disorienting gestures: extreme leaning, ratlike huddling, abdominal contractions that look like retching. Mrs. Lovett’s upward mobility can be traced, as if on a graph, in the lines of Emilio Sosa’s costumes. Natasha Katz’s extraordinary lighting is likewise expressionistic, its silvery beams often stabbing the gloom like a set of knives.

These effects are certainly large. (Sweeney’s trick barber chair is a production in itself.) But the original staging included the framework of an actual iron foundry, so nothing here feels out of scale. And scale is one of the reasons we’ve had so many so-called Teeny Todds: The work is usually deemed too difficult and expensive to pull off at the size Prince imagined and that Sondheim, in his gigantic score, achieved. Even with a few discreet cuts, the nearly three-hour show is about 80 percent sung, which is why some people call it an opera.

Certainly Kail’s production makes a convincing new case for “Sweeney” as a Broadway-size property, with its cast of 25 (I’ve seen it with as few as nine) and its orchestra playing Jonathan Tunick’s original orchestrations for 26. (You can’t believe the difference three trombones make in creating the sound of doom, especially compared to none.) Under Alex Lacamoire’s musical supervision, the musicians’ performance, like that of the ensemble in the choral numbers, is glorious.

Full disclosure: My parents, responding to an ad in The Times in 1978, invested $1,800 in the original production, and after 10 or 15 years earned a profit of, I think, $80. But even putting that windfall aside, I have never not loved “Sweeney.” In a pie shop or a foundry, I am always transported, largely by the music, to a place where grief twists people into nightmares, and others find ways to monetize that.

I hope the current producers likewise find ways to monetize Kail’s production, because what is Broadway for if not a “Sweeney” that, however rare, is this well-done?

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street At the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, Manhattan; sweeneytoddbroadway.com . Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes.

Jesse Green is the chief theater critic for The Times. His latest book is “Shy,” with and about the composer Mary Rodgers. He is also the author of a novel, “O Beautiful,” and a memoir, “The Velveteen Father.” More about Jesse Green

Sweeney Todd Tour

The curtain goes up in….

Learn More Buy 2024 Tickets

Your independent guide to the best entertainment in 2024! This website is operated by a ticket broker. Ticket prices are set by third-party sellers and may be above or below face value. We are not affiliated with nor endorsed by Sweeney Todd.

Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd  Broadway Revival Heads Out On Tour!

The original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd won a Tony Award in 1979 for Best Musical. Now, Sondheim’s masterpiece is once again stunning crowds on Broadway, and it's heading out on a major tour in 2024. Watch as the demon barber of Fleet Street exacts his jealous, bloody revenge. With haunting melodies and a riveting plot, Sweeney Todd is a theatrical experience like no other.

Whether you're a Broadway aficionado or new to the story, this is your chance to witness the brilliance of Sweeney Todd. If you only get to one show in 2024, make it the Sweeney Todd Tour 2024 ! Click the links below to get your tickets   today!

Sweeney Todd La Habra Depot Theatre La Habra, California

Sweeney todd segerstrom center for the arts costa mesa, california, sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street woodstock opera house woodstock, illinois, utah opera: sweeney todd janet quinney lawson capitol theatre salt lake city, utah, powered by bigstub® - trusted everywhere, your independent guide to the best entertainment in 2024 this website is operated by a ticket broker. tickets are listed by third-party sellers and may be above face value..

Sweeney Todd Cast & Creative

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's classic musical returns to Broadway.

This show is closed.

Performances ended on May. 5, 2024.

About Sweeney Todd

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s   landmark musical tells the tale of a resourceful pie shop owner and a vengeful barber out for blood. After he’s sent away by a corrupt judge, Sweeney returns to London years later seeking his long-lost family, and forms an unlikely partnership with Mrs. Lovett, who serves up pies underneath his former shop. Together, they wreak havoc on Fleet Street and serve up the hottest – and most unsettling – pies in London. Tony Award ®  winner Aaron Tveit stars in the title role with Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Mrs. Lovett through May 5 only. Directed by Tony Award winner Thomas Kail ( Hamilton ) and choreographed by Olivier Award winner Steven Hoggett ( Once, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ),  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street  has been hailed as a  New York Times  Critic’s Pick, “a triumphant, must-see production” ( Chicago Tribune ), and “a riveting revival with big laughs, serious scares, and a thunderous 26-piece orchestra” ( Entertainment Weekly ).

• Broadway Shows
• Sweeney Todd on Broadway
• Cast & Creative

Looking for Last-Minute Tickets? Check This Month’s Calendar for new availability.

SWEENEY TODD PLAYED ITS FINAL NYC PERFORMANCE ON AUGUST 26, 2018

Sorry, no eels! Check out Sweeney Todd on Broadway {starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford} HERE !

“EXTRACTS FRESH CHILLS FROM THIS MUSICAL MASTERWORK!” - The Hollywood Reporter

“one of the best and most immersive revivals of the year” - entertainment weekly, “a must-see.” - the new york times, “a delightful revival of one of the greatest musicals ever written” - new york magazine, “a sensational, not-to-be-missed sweeney todd” - new york post.

General queries may be directed to: [email protected] / Press queries may be directed to [email protected]

Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy / Terms of Use / Site by AKA

SWEENEY TODD, TWELFTH NIGHT and More Set For Portland Center Stage's 2024-2025 Season

Learn more about the full lineup here!

Portland Center Stage’s 2024-2025 season will kick off in September with Stephen Sondheim ’s spooky musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The nine-show lineup includes a remount of last season’s holiday hit, Liberace & Liza, Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute), new takes on classics like Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Edward Albee ’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf . Plus, audiences will experience recent works such as Broadway hit Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Chicago playwright Loy Webb’s The Light, plus a new solo work by television actor Chris Grace , where he lauds the work of fellow Asian actor, Scarlett Johansson .

LATEST NEWS

The season includes a world premiere adaptation of Oscar Wilde ’s The Importance of Being Earnest by Kamilah Bush, as well as Tarell Alvin McCraney ’s story of brotherhood, The Brothers Size. PCS’s support of new work also continues with the return of the 24th annual JAW: New Play Festival, July 26-28, 2024.

“This season’s lineup is fierce, speaking directly to our current lives as we center joy, fight for our democracy, and offer a space to wrestle with our own humanity,” said Artistic Director Marissa Wolf . “From arresting new approaches to beloved classics, including Sondheim’s revenge musical, Sweeney Todd, to the theatrical, humor filled worlds of Twelfth Night and a world premiere adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest, the season lifts off to feature hot new plays, including award winning Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and the scathingly funny  Chris Grace : As Scarlett Johansson . Join us for a season of energetic, expansive, transcendent theater on our stages!”

Beyond the stage, PCS’s 2024-2025 calendar will be packed full with vibrant community events, including First Thursday gatherings, live music and comedy showcases, art exhibits, community discussions, classes for adults, and more. PCS’s youth programs will continue to grow in the season ahead as well, with increased student matinees, ongoing classes for teens, and robust in-school offerings. 

Season tickets are on sale now. Group tickets of 10+ are also available for early reservation. Single tickets will go on sale in late summer 2024. PCS will continue offering a wide array of prices to make its productions and events affordable for all, including two Pay-What-You-Will performances for each production, discounted rush tickets that can be purchased as early as noon on the day of a performance, and more. Full details below.   

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Book by Hugh Wheeler

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed & Choreographed by Chip Miller

Musical Directed by DeReau K. Farrar

On the U.S. Bank Main Stage

September 29 – November 3, 2024

Great for fans of Little Shop of Horrors, Tim Burton , Dexter, Guillermo Del Toro , and The Pie Spot (IFKYK!).

After 15 years in exile on a trumped up conviction, Sweeney Todd returns to the grit and grime of Victorian London, bent on reclaiming his life and exacting bloody retribution. With the help of his trusty razors and his plotting landlady and pie-shop owner, Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney tears through a corrupt society proving revenge is a dish best served piping hot. This Sondheim classic is to die for! 

Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score, 1979.

Liberace & Liza: Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute)

By Jillian Snow & David Saffert

Directed by Chip Miller

In the Ellyn Bye Studio

November 10 – December 22, 2024

If you like sequins, showtunes, and laughing until your face hurts, this one is for you!

Local favorites David Saffert and Jillian Snow are BACK! Join them as they sparkle in this exhilarating night of musical and comical fireworks. Settle in for a glamorous evening as they bring two icons to life. Liberace & Liza delights in some of show business’ wildest and most well known personalities, sharing iconic musical numbers, enchanting costumes and unforgettable laughs. Make your visit to the mansion a holiday tradition!

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Marissa Wolf

On the U.S. Bank Mainstage

November 24 – December 22, 2024

If you like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, romantic comedies, and Portland indie pop, join us!

When Viola washes ashore, her twin brother Sebastian is lost at sea. Disguises, mistaken identities and unrequited love show them that shipwrecks may be the least of their problems. In one of  Shakespeare’s most enduring comedies, everything — love, mischief, music and libations — exists in exciting excess! 

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

By Jocelyn Bioh

Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene

January 19 – February 16, 2025

For fans of Beauty Shop, B*A*P*S, Bronner Bros Hair Show, and Steel Magnolias.

Fresh off of a celebrated Broadway run, Jocelyn Bioh (writer of School Girls: Or the African Mean Girls Play) brilliantly brings the bustling world of a Harlem braiding shop to life! This universal story full of heart and hilarity centers a vibrant group of West African Stylists who create hair magic, community, and comedy in Jaja’s shop. As these “capital S” Stylists and their zany assortment of patrons navigate the complexities of culture, politics, love, and beauty, they illuminate how one finds, builds, and maintains home, even when home feels far away.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?

By Edward Albee

March 2 – 30, 2025

If your favorite plays include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or Long Day’s Journey into Night, or if you’re a fan of Scenes from a Marriage or the Normal Gossip podcast, this is for you!

George and Martha have invited a young couple — Nick and Honey — over for a nightcap. As the drinks start flowing and skeletons claw their way out of their closets, the couples soon learn that marriage isn’t all fun and games. Hilarious and harrowing, one of the theater’s beloved classics, Edward Albee ’s dark comedy is as fresh now as it was at its premiere more than 60 years ago.

Tony Award for Best Play, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, 1963.

By Loy A. Webb

March 9 – April 20, 2025

Perfect for fans of Redwood, Love Life, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

Today should be the happiest day of Rashad and Genesis’ lives — he’s planned it all out — the perfect proposal before the perfect concert from the couple’s favorite artist. Things, however, almost never go as planned and when old secrets put their relationship at risk, they are forced to confront their commitment to each other and to justice. This intimate and moving play set amid the Kavanaugh hearings makes the political quite personal, in a real time rollercoaster ride of romance and reckoning.

Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, 2018.

The Brothers Size

By Tarell Alvin McCraney

April 20 – May 18, 2025

If you love Tarell’s previous works (In the Red and Brown Water, Choir Boy, Moonlight), Clyde’s, or Life (1999 film), then this show is for you.

From Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight, Choir Boy) comes a story of freedom and family. Steadfast and responsible, Ogun Size fights to connect with Oshoosi, his aimless younger brother,  who has recently been released from prison. Weaving together the mundane and the mystic, this play invites us into the Louisiana Bayou, showing us a world of poetry, African mythology, and music. A fresh and contemporary tale of belonging, brotherhood and the ties that bind. 

Chris Grace : As Scarlett Johansson

May 11 – June 22, 2025

Great for fans of Black Widow, Marvel Avengers, and Kristina Wong ’s Sweatshop Overlord. Also great if you’re not a fan of Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Emma Stone in Aloha. 

Chris Grace is Scarlett Johansson . Or maybe Scarlett Johansson is Chris Grace . Either way, only one of them played a Japanese cyborg in Ghost in the Shell.  In a tour-de-force one-person farce that The Guardian describes as “mind and character bending,” Asian American actor and comedian Chris Grace explores the bounds of an artist’s identity. With the help of an ever-growing pile of wigs,  Chris Grace : As Scarlett Johansson  celebrates two of Hollywood’s most beloved Asian actors. 

The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde

Adapted by Kamilah Bush

Directed by Josiah Davis

June 1 – 29, 2025

A world-premiere adaptation! If you like Bridgerton, Sense & Sensibility, Saltburn, or Gossip Girl, you’ll love this!

What’s in a name? For some people — everything. A new, exciting spin on an old classic, this adaptation of Oscar Wilde ’s satire sparkles with wit and whimsy. To become the gentlemen they believe they’re meant to be, Jack and Algernon must live double lives. Country mice and city mice collide in this comedy that will woo you from the very start!

TICKETS & INFO

Subscriptions are on sale now and single tickets will go on sale in the late summer 2024. To purchase season tickets, visit  pcs.org/shows/2024-2025-season  or call the box office 503-445-3700, between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m, Wednesday-Sunday. Ticket packages start at $108 for three plays. Special discounts are available for students and K-12 educators. The Armory Card, a hugely popular option for those who are 35 years old, or younger, starts at $125 for five admissions. Groups of 10 or more can sign up for priority seating now to get an early bird special of 25%. 

Portland SHOWS

Recommended For You

This login is for members of The Broadway League, who are primarily theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the commercial theatre industry.

Consumers looking for ticketing accounts should contact directly the theatre where your account is held.

What’s a League Member?

Subscribe to the Resource Guide

Forgot Password?

Back to login

Press Resources Press Releases

Josh groban to host the 15th annual jimmy awards®.

MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024 LIVE AT BROADWAY’S MINSKOFF THEATRE TICKETS GO ON SALE JUNE 10TH  JIMMYAWARDS.COM  

The Broadway League Foundation is pleased to announce that EMMY®, two-time TONY®, and five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer, songwriter, actor, and philanthropist Josh Groban will host the 15th annual Jimmy Awards® ceremony taking place on Monday, June 24, 2024 at the Minskoff Theatre in Manhattan. Tickets start at $75 and will go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 10th through BroadwayDirect.com .

“We are delighted that multi-platinum recording artist and two-time Tony Award nominee Josh Groban will host this year’s Jimmy Awards. As both an accomplished artist and advocate for arts education in his own right, we are thrilled to have him join us in celebrating the achievements of, and giving inspiration to, high school musical theatre students across the country, including the over 100 student nominees performing on stage that night,” said Jason Laks, Interim President for The Broadway League .

“I am excited to be the host for the 15th annual Jimmy Awards! The dedication and immense talent of these nominees are truly inspiring. Arts education holds a dear place in my heart, and its profound impact is clearly showcased through these young talents each year at the Jimmy Awards,” said Josh Groban .

The 2024 Jimmy Awards will stream for free online beginning at 7:30pm (Eastern) on Monday, June 24th via the Jimmy Awards Facebook and YouTube channels. The ceremony will remain available online for three days afterwards, through Thursday evening, June 27th.

American Sign Language interpretation will be provided during the Jimmy Awards. For those interested in ASL interpretation, they can watch a live interpreter via an alternate YouTube stream. Live closed captions will be available through the "CC" feature on the primary YouTube stream. Additionally, closed captions are available for Facebook via an alternate link. Accessibility services secured by Invest in Access. Links will be available closer to the ceremony.

HOST BIO : EMMY®, two-time TONY®, and five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer, songwriter, actor, and philanthropist Josh Groban possesses one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable voices in music. Moreover, he continues to captivate fans everywhere as both a powerhouse vocalist and dynamic Renaissance man. He has sold over 35 million albums worldwide, headlined legendary venues on multiple continents, and entertained audiences with acclaimed film and television appearances. His catalog spans a series of chart-topping blockbuster albums, including Josh Groban (5x-platinum), Closer (6x-platinum), Noël (6x-platinum), Awake (2x-platinum), Illuminations , All That Echoes (gold), Stages (gold), his first UK #1 album, Bridges , and his most recent release, Harmony . Along the way, he has packed arenas throughout North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Asia.

Extending his repertoire, Groban made his Broadway debut in 2016 with a starring role in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. He garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Musical. He has expanded his presence with appearances on “Glee,” “The Simpsons,” “The Office,” “CSI: NY,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and “The Crazy Ones” as well as in the feature films “Coffee Town;” “Muppets Most Wanted;” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” In addition, he starred in the NETFLIX series “The Good Cop” in 2018. Groban maintains his position as the consummate American showman. In 2022, he returned to the hallowed stage of Radio City Music Hall for his Great Big Radio City Show residency and launched a nation-wide live tour. Groban also starred in ABC’s special “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration” as none other than the Beast in December 2022.

In the spring of 2023, Josh took to Broadway once again, performing in the highly anticipated revival of Sweeney Todd , playing the title role which earned him TONY and GRAMMY nominations along with widespread acclaim. Deadline : “Groban makes himself over into a full-blown, and fully developed, Broadway star…His Sweeney is by turns sympathetic and monstrous.” The New York Times : “The ‘gorgeously sung’ part is no surprise with Groban, whose quasi-operatic pop baritone perfectly encompasses the range of the role, and whose technique makes sure every word is bell clear. That some of the songs are thus even prettier than usual is all to the better.”  

He remains an active arts education philanthropist and advocate, and his Find Your Light Foundation helps enrich the lives of young people through arts, education, and cultural awareness.

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® , better known as the Jimmy Awards® , is a coast-to-coast celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual talent in vocal, dance, and acting performance. The program impacts approximately 130,000 students who participate in regional high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of Touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. The 2024 Jimmy Awards anticipates welcoming more than 100 nominees from over 50 cities across the country as they make their debuts on a Broadway stage. During this exhilarating talent showcase, a panel of judges will select two students to receive the coveted awards of Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the Jimmy Awards has been the catalyst for more than $6,000,000 in educational scholarships.

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC , Pittsburgh CLO , and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA) , the mission of the NHSMTA is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, honor dedicated teachers, and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Numerous participants have already been cast in Broadway, Touring, and West End productions . As of this spring, 67 Jimmys alumni have performed on Broadway or on Tour. 

Presented by The Broadway League Foundation Inc. , the NHSMTA invites two nominees from each local regional ceremony to New York City for a 10-day theatre intensive that includes coaching sessions, training, and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals. All their combined efforts will lead to one extraordinary talent showcase performed live in front of an audience on a Broadway stage. For more information, please visit JimmyAwards.com .

The Broadway League conducts the program through The Broadway League Foundation Inc ., its philanthropic division. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation, and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993, has supported several projects to help preserve Broadway's heritage and introduce new audiences to Broadway theatre. The Foundation is a corporation organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, the purposes of which are exclusively charitable as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Donations to support the program can be made at www.JimmyAwards.com.

Follow the Jimmy Awards on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok & YouTube !

Official Partners

Copyright © 2015-24 The Broadway League. All rights reserved. Legal Privacy Terms of Use Contact

Web Design Company Lounge Lizard

Copyright © 2015-24 The Broadway League. All rights reserved. Legal | Privacy | Terms of Use | Contact