Alexius Frost and David Cummings in Sweeney Todd
The Center for the Arts continues its the 2019 season with Sweeney Todd. This beloved Stephen Sondheim play has been a theatrical favorite since its Broadway debut in 1979. The musical, with equal measures of tragedy, horror and dark comedy, was also a 2007 blockbuster film by director Tim Burton.
“Sweeney Todd has always intrigued me and I am so excited to have the opportunity to direct this musical,” says director Renee Robinson. “The story, while leaning towards macabre and dark, teaches lessons that always seem be applicable, no matter the time period. The cast and crew have been dedicated in telling this story and are doing an amazing job bringing these characters to life.”
One of the darkest musicals ever written, Sweeney Todd is the unsettling tale of a Victorian-era barber who returns home to London after 15 years of forced exile to take revenge on the corrupt Judge Turpin (Ro Coger) who ruined his life. When revenge becomes harder than he had hoped, Sweeney (David Cummings) swears vengeance on the entire human race, murdering as many people as he can. Meanwhile, his business associate Mrs. Lovett (Alexius Frost) bakes mysteriously delicious meat pies and sells them to the unsuspecting public. Sweeney Todd is lush, operatic and full of beauty.
Nicholas Lewandowski, Aiden Shirk and Alexius Frost
Sweeney Todd is rated R for graphic violence.
Tickets start at $14 and are on sale at boroarts.org, by calling 615-904-ARTS, or at the Center for the Arts Box Office, 110 W. College St., in downtown Murfreesboro.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays, Oct. 13, 20 and 27 at 2 p.m.
Sweeney Todd cast list:
Sweeney Todd – David Cummings
Mrs. Lovett – Alexius Frost
Anthony Hope – Nicholas Lewandowski
Johanna Barker – Savannah Gannon
Tobias Ragg – Aiden Shirk
Judge Turpin – Ro Coger
Beadle Bamford – Dylan Webster
Beggar Woman – Heather Blackburn
Adolfo Pirelli – Nate Paul
Female company – Niki Hazen, Zakiyah Lamb, Shonna Lund, Alana Shirk and Tiffany Smith
Male company – Luke Gannon, Jack Jones, Payton McCarthy, Matthew Wells and Pearson Hazen
