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With news that Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford are leaving their roles in January as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett in the buzzy Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, we were all left wondering who would fill their big shoes.
Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Tony Award Winners Aaron Tveit (Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Catch Me If You Can, Next to Normal, Wicked and Hairspray) and Sutton Foster (The Music Man, Violet, Anything Goes, Little Women, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Misérables, Annie) are the new Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett.
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Tveit and Foster will begin performances starting Friday, February 9, 2024, and are planned to perform for just 12 weeks only until Sunday, May 5, 2024.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the winner of two 2023 Tony Awards for “Best Lighting Design of a Musical” (Natasha Katz) and “Best Sound Design of a Musical” (Nevin Steinberg). The production was nominated for six additional 2023 Tony Awards, including “Best Revival of a Musical,” “Best Leading Actor in a Musical” for Josh Groban, and “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” for Annaleigh Ashford. Sweeney Todd is also the winner of three 2023 Drama Desk Awards: “Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical” (Annaleigh Ashford), “Outstanding Direction of a Musical” (Thomas Kail), and “Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical” (Natasha Katz).
Groban’s grief-stricken Sweeney took audiences’ breath away. His voice, more than his acting, was the real showstopper. Groban is a bass-baritone while Tveit is a tenor, so it will be interesting to see how the role is tweaked if at all.
Ashford’s performance was “a triumph: with breathtaking originality, she mixes fresh comic personality—madcap, sly, performative, libidinous—with howlingly funny physical business, including a priceless bit on a staircase,” our Theater Critic Adam Feldman wrote. Annaleigh Ashford received the 2023 Drama League “Distinguished Performance Award” for her role.
November 5 is Gaten Matarazzo’s last performance as Toby—a role he seemingly thrived in.
Sweeney Todd is at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. You can buy tickets here.