PhotosPHOTO SPECIAL: "Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd!" The Many Faces of the Demon Barber of Fleet StreetThe 2005 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd opened Nov. 3, 2005. We look back at that production, which starred Michael Cerveris in the title role, as well as the other talented men to portray the demon barber.
By
Matthew Blank
November 03, 2014
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Look Back at 39 Years of Sweeney Todd
Look Back at 39 Years of Sweeney Todd
Look through the many faces of Sweeney Todd, Mrs. Lovett and the other Fleet Street residents.
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Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in the original Broadway production
Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in the original Broadway production
Ken Jennings and Angela Lansbury in the original Broadway production
Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in the original Broadway production
Edmund Lyndeck and Jack Eric Williams in the original Broadway production
Martha Swope
George Hearn in the original Broadway production
Dorothy Loudon in the original Broadway production
Merle Louise in the original Broadway production
Dorothy Loudon and George Hearn in the original Broadway production
Ken Jennings and Dorothy Loudon in the original Broadway production
Cris Groenendaal and Betsy Joslyn in the original Broadway production
Dorothy Loudon and Jack Eric Williams in the original Broadway production
Dennis Quilley in the original London production
Sheila Hanock and Dennis Quilley in the original London production
June Havoc in the 1982 national tour
June Havoc and Ross Petty in the 1982 national tour
Bob Gunton in the 1989 Broadway revival
Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler in the 1989 Broadway revival
Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler in the 1989 Broadway revival
Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler in the 1989 Broadway revival
Alun Armstrong and Julia McKenzie in the 1993 London revival
Donna Migliaccio and Norm Lewis in the 1999 Signature Theatre production
Norm Lewis in the 1999 Signature Theatre production
George Hearn and Patti LuPone in a 2000 concert with the New York Philharmonic
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski in the 2002 Kennedy Center production
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Walter Charles in the 2002 Kennedy Center production
Christine Baranski and Brian Stokes Mitchell in the 2002 Kennedy Center production
Elaine Paige and Mark Delavan in the 2004 New York City Opera production
Michael Cerveris and cast in the 2005 Broadway revival
Manoel Felciano and Patti LuPone in the 2005 Broadway revival
Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone in the 2005 Broadway revival
Paul Kolnik
Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone in the 2005 Broadway revival
Set in Victorian London, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, according to press notes, tells the story of the "eponymous barber who seeks vengeance on what he sees as a merciless world by murdering his customers and, with the help of his landlady, the romantically inclined Mrs. Lovett, bakes their bodies into meat pies, which are fed to London’s avid and unknowing populace."
With music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Wheeler, Sweeney Todd first opened on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979, directed by Harold Prince and starring Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury. The show received eight Tony Awards in 1979 — including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score — as well as 11 Drama Desk Awards and the Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical.
A new scholarship will send three young writers to the 2026 International Thespian Festival to work directly with Playbill on coverage of the week-long event.