Sweeney Todd
February 8, 2017 – March 19, 2017
“If you’ve never met the Demon Barber, get to this Sweeney Todd” – Chicago Tribune
It’s just another day in 19th Century England, and Benjamin Barker has returned home. The only thing is, it has been 15 years since the once fresh-faced barber has been home to see his family. He was unjustly sentenced to prison on trumped up charges by the corrupt Judge Turpin, who had his leering eyes on the barber’s beautiful wife. Upon his arrival to the pie shop – where he and his family once lived above – his old friend and confidant Mrs. Lovett unravels the events of the past decade. She explains about the seduction of his wife by the Judge, which led her to take her own life. And to sharpen that pain of his loss, she breaks the news that the Judge adopted his daughter and is raising her as his own. Barker vows revenge for these atrocities and turns to the tools and skills with which he’ll exact his plan: a razor and a barber chair. While the ensuing events are unfortunate for some, others – including Mrs. Lovett, her struggling pie shop and her customers – quickly prosper from the body count.
Based on a Victorian Penny dreadful, this Stephen Sondheim masterpiece has been nominated for Tony Awards in 3 different decades. The original 1979 production was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, bringing home 8 including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The 1990 revival saw 4 more Tony nominations, while in 2006, the New York production received 6 Tony nods.
Some critics call Sweeney Todd Sondheim’s most perfect score, filled with ravishing beauty. Others have described it as a pitch-black comedy filled with thrills and terrors, while others have heralded it as one of the single greatest achievements of American musical theater in the last 50 years. Decide for yourself and experience Paramount Theatre’s Sweeney Todd.
Behind the Scenes
Opening Night
Meet the Team
Paul-Jordan Jansen *
Sweeney Todd
previously in The Wizard of Oz and Sweeney Todd
Bri Sudia *
Mrs. Lovett
making Paramount Theatre debut
Matt Deitchman *
Adolfo Pirelli
previously in The Wizard of Oz (Orchestra), Sweeney Todd and The Who’s Tommy
Larry Adams *
Judge Turpin
previously in 42nd Street and Annie
Cecilia Iole
Johanna
making Paramount Theatre debut
Anthony Norman *
Tobias Ragg
making Paramount Theatre debut
Emily Rohm *
Beggar Woman
previously in Groundhog Day, Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, The Music Man and Annie
Patrick Rooney *
Anthony Hope
previously in Les Misérables
Craig W. Underwood
Beadle
making Paramount Theatre debut
Julie Bayer
Ensemble
making Paramount Theatre debut
Harter Clingman *
Ensemble, u/s Beadle
making Paramount Theatre debut
Nathan Maurice Cooper
Ensemble, u/s Tobias Ragg
making Paramount Theatre debut
Evan C. Dolan *
Ensemble
previously in Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, and Sweeney Todd
Thomas Forde *
Ensemble, u/s Judge Turpin
making Paramount Theatre debut
Emily Glick *
Ensemble, u/s Beggar Woman
making Paramount Theatre debut
Emily Goldberg
Ensemble, u/s Johanna
making Paramount Theatre debut
Alana Grossman
Ensemble
Paramount Theatre Debut
Teressa LaGamba *
Ensemble, u/s Mrs. Lovett
previously in Groundhog Day, Legally Blonde and Sweeney Todd
Matthew Thomas Provencal
Ensemble, Male Swing
making Paramount Theatre debut
Rob Riddle *
Ensemble, u/s Sweeney Todd
previously in Les Misérables.
Dan Riley
Ensemble
making Paramount Theatre debut
Will Skrip *
Ensemble, u/s Anthony Hope, Dance Captain
previously in Mary Poppins, West Side Story, The Little Mermaid and Sweeney Todd
Jason Slattery
Ensemble, u/s Adolfo Pirelli
making Paramount Theatre debut
Abby Murray Vachon
Ensemble, Female Swing
making Paramount Theatre debut
* indicates member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
† indicates member of United Scenic Artists (USA)
‡ indicates member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
Don’t be afraid. It’s only a story. “A musical thriller.” Pure fiction. Granted, it is a rapacious, blood-lusting, vengeful tale of murder and madness, but that’s a lot like life nowadays anyway, isn’t it? Besides, being frightened is fun. Scary things make us laugh… after we gasp… or scream. The magnificent Stephen Sondheim musical masterpiece Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is based on the 1972 Christopher Bond melodrama of the same name, an adaptation of a “penny dreadful” written in the mid-19th century for fans of horror stories. Today, as ever, there are lovers of slasher films, gothic gore and scary movies. Perhaps you are among them? The original 1979 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, directed by Harold Prince, received eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, and the show continues to be presented in countless revivals and concerts across the country and internationally. So why do people love it? Well, our psyches’ fascination with the psycho side of ourselves needs a venue for expression, lest we find ourselves acting on it… now, doesn’t it? Heaven forbid.
Sondheim seems to be probing to rid himself of an obsession with demons and darkness, releasing within a gorgeously grotesque reconnaissance of evil. Ravishing with great wit and style, Sondheim is at his most playful when rhyming Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett’s cause for cannibalism… his protagonists’ deadly sport. How would you feel if you found yourself being conned into eating a steaming pie of human flesh? Consider this the conceit for the community of cursed souls before you. The Damned, having cannibalized their own citizens, approach us from the house of “a dark and a hungry god.” Toxic, poisoned and betrayed, the only bit of divinity left burning within them is the eternally purgatorial fire of desire to warn us, “To seek revenge may lead to hell, but everyone does it, if seldom as well as Sweeney, as Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!” – Oh, it’s just a little ol’ ditty, isn’t it?
~ Artistic Director Jim Corti
