When you're doing live theatre, anything can happen. According to Sweeney Todd star Josh Groban, that includes his special barber chair refusing to function at some performances early in previews.
The set piece is designed so that Sweeney can off his latest victim and then pull a lever, transforming the chair into a chute, which actors slide down "into the bakehouse," presumably with Mrs. Lovett close by to collect the meat. Find out what happens when that doesn't go as planned in Groban's recent visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon above.
Groban, who received a Tony nomination for his performance in the revival, is now in the final months of his run in the Sondheim musical's title role. He and co-star Analeigh Ashford announced last week that they will both play their final performances in the production January 14, 2024. Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo, co-starring as pie shop employee Tobias Ragg, is leaving the company November 5. Replacement actors have not yet been named.
Regularly one of Broadway's top-grossing productions, the current revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd began performances at the Lunt-Fontanne last February. Directed by Thomas Kail, the revival was nominated for eight 2023 Tony Awards, and won Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz) and Best Sound Design of a Musical (Nevin Steinberg).
READ: Gaten Matarazzo and Manoel Felciano Trade Notes on Playing Toby in Sweeney Todd
Along with Groban, Ashford, and Matarazzo, the production currently features Tony Award winner and Laurence Olivier Award nominee Ruthie Ann Miles (The King and I) as Beggar Woman, Daniel Yearwood (Hamilton) as Anthony, Maria Bilbao (On Your Feet!) as Johanna, Jamie Jackson (The Last Ship) as Judge Turpin, John Rapson (Les Misérables) as Beadle Bamford, and Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton) as Pirelli.
The production features Jonathan Tunick's full, 26-piece orchestration for the first time on Broadway since the 1979 original production, with music supervision by three-time Tony winner Alex Lacamoire. A cast album was released in September.
Based on the Christopher Bond play of the same name, Sweeney Todd centers on its titular barber who seeks revenge on a corrupt judge and turns to murder, with neighbor and accomplice Mrs. Lovett ultimately discovering they can dispose of the evidence by serving up the most unsettling meat pies to the people of London.
The production features choreography by Steven Hoggett, scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, special effects design by Jeremy Chernick, and wig, hair, and make-up design by J. Jared Janas. Casting is by The Telsey Office, and Baseline Theatrical's Nick Lugo and James Hickey serve as general managers. Cody Renard Richard is production stage manager.
Annaleigh Ashford and Josh Groban in Sweeney Todd
Ruthie Ann Miles in Sweeney Todd
Jordan Fisher and Maria Bilbao in Sweeney Todd
Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Alicia Kaori, DeLaney Westfall, and Kristie Dale Sanders in Sweeney Todd
Nicholas Christopher and cast in Sweeney Todd
Jamie Jackson and John Rapson in Sweeney Todd
Annaleigh Ashford in Sweeney Todd
Josh Groban in Sweeney Todd
Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Josh Groban, Nathan Salstone, and cast of Sweeney Todd
Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in Sweeney Todd
Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, and cast of Sweeney Todd
