1979: Original Broadway Cast
Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou were the first to play Mrs Lovett and Sweeney Todd, the characters we have come to know and love from Stephen Sondheim's 1979 musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The musical took home 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical and wins for Lansbury, Cariou, Sondheim, and director Harold Prince. As a side note, a young (well, 30 year old) Victor Garber played Anthony Hope.
Link: Trailer of the Original Production
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| 1979 Original Cast Recording |
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| This is off topic but in 2011, I painted this re-creation of the album art, pasted on a bunch of googly eyes, and sent it to my sister in the mail with no explanation |
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1979: Len Cariou & Angela Lansbury
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In 1980, Len Cariou was replaced by George Hearn (more on him soon) and Angela Lansbury was replaced by Dorothy Loudon (who had originated Miss Hannigan in the 1977 Broadway production of Annie).
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| 1980: Dorothy Loudon |
1980: Original London Cast
The year after Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway, it opened on the West End. Denis Quilley won an Olivier for his portrayal of Sweeney and Sheila Hancock was nominated for an Olivier as Mrs. Lovett.
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| 1980: Sheila Hancock & Denis Quilley |
1980: 1st National Tour Cast
Angela Lansbury and George Hearn headed up the first national tour. George Hearn is the Sweeney you may know BOTH from the stage video created with Angela Lansbury in 1982 AND from the concert video created with Patti LuPone in 2001. Don't believe me? Here's Hearn at ages 48 and 67.
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| 1982: Angela Lansbury & George Hearn |
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| 2001: George Hearn & Patti LuPone |
Or if you prefer, this is what the video covers look like:
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| 1982 Video Cover: Angela Lansbury & George Hearn |
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| 2001 Video Cover: George Hearn & Patti LuPone |
1982: 2nd National Tour Cast
A 2nd national tour was launched a couple years later, this time starring Ross Petty & June Havoc. And here's a crazy bit of trivia: June Havoc is the real life "baby June" from the musical Gypsy!!
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| 1982: June Havoc (AKA Baby June) & Ross Petty |
1989: 1st Broadway Revival
Ten years after it all started, a Broadway revival was made with Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler. Both were nominated for a Tony, but neither won.
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| 1989: Bob Gunton & Beth Fowler |
1993: 1st London Revival
The 1st London Revival came out in 1993 and won 4 Oliviers: Best Revival, Best Director, Best Actor for Alun Armstrong as Sweeney Todd, and Best Actress for Julia Mckenzie as Mrs Lovett.
Armstrong was the original Thenardier from the West End's 1985 Les Miserables, so you may know his voice if you ever listened to the Original 1985 London Cast Recording or watched the 10th Anniversary Concert version of Les Mis.
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| 1993: Julia Mckenzie & Alun Armstrong |
1999: LA Concert
In 1999, Christine Baranski and Kelsey Grammer starred in a Sweeney Todd concert in LA. Both of them are well-known in movies, TV, and stage shows, but for some reason these are the roles that always come to mind first. I'm not sure what that says about me.
- Christine Baranski as the camp counselor in Addams Family Values and Mary Sunshine in Chicago
- Kelsey Grammer as the title role in Frasier and Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons
Link: A Little Priest performed by Kelsey Grammer & Christine Baranski
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| 1999: Kelsey Grammer & Christine Baranski |
2019: Manila, Singapore
Lea Salonga (perhaps most famous as the original Kim in Miss Saigon as well as the voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan) starred as Mrs Lovett in a revival of Sweeney Todd in Manila and Singapore in 2019.
Link: Trailer for Sweeney Todd with Lea Salonga
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| 2019: Jett Pangan and Lea Salonga |
2000: New York Philharmonic Concert
2001: San Francisco Symphony Concert
George Hearn and Patti LuPone performed in concerts in 2000 and 2001, with the later being the concert video you've probably seen. Patti LuPone took her role as Mrs Lovett to Broadway a few years later (more on that soon).
Side note: Audra McDonald (6-time Tony Award winner including the original Sarah in Ragtime on Broadway 1998) portrayed the beggar woman in the 2000 concert, and later would be the beggar woman again for the 2014 concert with Emma Thompson (more on that later).
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| 2000: Patti Lupone & George Hearn |
Neil Patrick Harris played Toby in all 3 of the above concerts (1999, 2000, 2001).
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| 2001: Patti LuPone & Neil Patrick Harris |
2002: Kennedy Center, Washington DC
Christine Baranski returned to her role as Mrs Lovett in 2002 at the Kennedy Center, joined by Brain Stokes Mitchell (the original Coalhouse Walker Jr from Ragtime on Broadway in 1998).
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| 2002: Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski |
2004: 2nd London Revival
2005: 2nd Broadway Revival
John Doyle directed a minimalist production of Sweeney Todd, in which a 10 person cast served as its own orchestra. The story was retold from an asylum where poor Toby was locked up.
The West End version opened in 2004 starring Paul Hegarty and Karen Mann; Hegarty was nominated for an Olivier, but there were no wins and Doyle didn't even get a nomination.
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| 2004: Karen Mann & Paul Hegarty |
The Broadway version opened in 2005 starring Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris (2 time Tony Award winner for 2004 Assassins and 2015 Fun Home, as well as that mysterious man in the show Fringe). The Broadway version received 6 Tony nominations (including ones for LuPone and Cerveris) and won 2, one of which was for director John Doyle.
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| 2005: Michael Cerveris & Patti LuPone |
Side note: the Broadway version also featured Donna Lynne Champlin (Paula from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Adolfo Pirelli and accordion player.
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| 2005: Donna Lynne Champlin |
2007: 3rd National Tour Cast
In 2006, Judy Kaye replaced Patti LuPone as Mrs Lovett on Broadway. The following year, Kaye went on to do the 3rd National Tour, alongside David Hess as Sweeney Todd.
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| 2007: Judy Kaye & David Hess |
2007: Musical Film
Tim Burton directed a musical film of Sweeney Todd, starring Johnny Depp in the title role and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs Lovett. The movie also featured Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin and Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli.
Fun fact: Helena Bonham Carter's breast size changes throughout the movie because she was pregnant with Tim Burton's child while filming.
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| 2007: Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter |
2012: 3rd London Revival
The 3rd London Revival changed the setting of Sweeney Todd from 1846 to the 1930s. It won Olivier Awards for Best Musical Revival, Best Actor for Michael Ball as Sweeney Todd, and Best Actress for Imelda Staunton as Mrs Lovett.
Michael Ball was the original Marius in the 1985 West End production of Les Miserables (so like Alan Armstrong who I mentioned above, you may know Ball if you listened to the original London cast or saw the concert version of Les Mis).
Imelda Staunton has won 3 Olivier Awards, but I'm ashamed to say I only really know her as Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter movies.
Link: Epiphany with Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton
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| 2012: Michael Ball & Imelda Staunton |
2014: Second New York Philharmonic Concert Production
A New York Philharmonic concert of Sweeney Todd was filmed for PBS in 2014, starring Bryn Terfel as Sweeney and Emma Thompson as Mrs Lovett. Audra McDonald played the Beggar Woman and Christian Borle played Adolfo Pirelli.
Link: 2014 Concert: Sweeney Todd Ballad
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| 2014: Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson |
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| 2014: Audra McDonald |
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| 2014: Christian Borle |
2015: 4th London Revival
2017: 1st Off-Broadway Revival
In 2015, the West End came up with an innovative revival which was set in Harrington's Pie Shop... as in, an actual pie shop! It starred Jeremy Secomb as Sweeney Todd and Siobhan McCarthy as Mrs Lovett.
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| 2015: Jeremy Secomb and Siobhan McCarthy |
The production was transferred to Off-Broadway in February 2017, where the Barrow Street Theatre was transformed into a re-creation of Harrington's pie shop. Brad Oscar (2-time Tony Award nominee for Franz Liebkind in The Producers and Nostradamus in Something Rotten) joined the cast as the Beadle.
Link: Barrow Street Theatre Turns Into a Pie Shop
In April 2017, Norm Lewis took over as Sweeney Todd and Carolee Carmello took over as Mrs. Lovett.
A couple interesting things about Lewis:
- He portrayed Sweeney Todd at ages 36, 46, and 54. Before joining the Off-Broadway production in 2017, he had already played Sweeney Todd in 1999 at Signature Theatre, Virginia and again in 2009 at Casa Manana Theatre, Texas.
- Lewis was the first African-American to perform Javert in Les Miserables on Broadway (2006) and the first African-American to perform the phantom in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway (2014).
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| 2007: Norm Lewis & Carolee Carmello |
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| 2017: Carolee Carmello, my friend Jenna, me, and Norm Lewis |
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| Also Brad Oscar was in this one |
In 2023, Broadway opened its 3rd revival of Sweeney Todd, starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. My husband and I flew in to NYC to see the production, along with Jenna (from Seattle area) and my sister (from Austin). It did not disappoint. Annaleigh Ashford is now my favorite Mrs Lovett.
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| Annaleigh Ashford & Josh Groban |
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