This sounds exciting: A thrilling new production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, will open on Broadway on November 3rd at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 49th Street.

This version of Sweeney Todd premiered in London's West End, where it achieved virtually unanimous critical acclaim and became one of the most highly regarded theatrical events of last season.

This production of Sweeney Todd is highly unusual because there is no separate orchestra. Each of the actor/singers in the cast plays his or her own instrument (or instruments) and provide a full rendering of Sondheim's thrilling musical score. The scale of the production is intimate, with only nine actor/singer/players in the cast.

The production was brilliantly conceived -- and will be directed and designed on Broadway -- by John Doyle, artistic director of the Watermill Theatre, a small regional theater company in the South of England. It was subsequently produced at the Trafalgar Studios in the West End, and following its sell-out run there moved to the New Ambassador's Theatre.

The Broadway run will be a reproduction of the London production, but with an all-American cast, including Tony Award-winning Patti Lupone as Mrs. Lovett and Michael Cerveris as Sweeney Todd.

Patti Lupone is one of Broadway's true musical theater stars. She's been honored for starring performances both on Broadway (winning a Tony Award -- and Drama Desk Award -- as Best Actress in a Musical for Evita, and Tony-nominated as the star of Anything Goes and of The Robber Bridegroom), and in London's West End (Olivier Awards as Best Actress in a Musical for Les Miserables and The Cradle Will Rock, and nominated for that award for Sunset Boulevard).

Michael Cerveris recently won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, for his role in last season's Broadway production of Assassins. He was one of the stars of Titanic and won a Tony Award nomination for his work in Tommy. He's often appeared in movies and on television, and was the one male actor/singer who Stephen Sondheim approved without any audition. The one female actor/singer Sondheim felt no need to see was Patti Lupone.

My daughters love this musical: It's probably their favorite Sondheim musical, with Into the Woods running a close second. We can't wait to see it...we'll be at opening night!

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