The factory whistle shrills on Broadway when the Londoners of Fleet Street return in a new revival of Stephen Sondheim´s Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Oct. 3.
John Doyle, who staged the original London run, directs the musical which will open on Broadway at the Eugene O´Neill Theatre Nov. 3.
Sweeney Todd features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, drawing from the play by Christopher Bond (itself based on characters created by British journalist George Dibden-Pitt, who adapted his 1830s penny dreadful tale into a popular stage melodrama). The story follows a vengeful barber (Sweeney Todd) in Victorian England and his neighbor (Mrs. Lovett) who owns a pie shop that becomes popular due to a surplus of fresh meat.
This unique staging casts actor-musicians to retell the story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and company. A cast of ten (with no ensemble) perform on various instruments ranging from flute, trumpet and clarinet to cello, accordion and bass in addition to their acting and singing duties.
Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris (Assassins) will star in the title role opposite Tony Award winner Patti LuPone (Evita) as the lovable meatpie-maker Mrs. Lovett — her first Broadway musical role in 17 years — for the new Broadway revival.
