The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and Television is presenting “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at Marroney Theatre through March 17 — the first production at the theater since its two-year renovation.
Marroney, 1025 N. Olive Road, has been closed for renovations since the summer of 2022 but reopened just in time for “Sweeney Todd,” with performances moved to the smaller Tornabene Theatre. The theater, built in 1956, got a new lobby, upgraded technology and a facelift as part of a university-wide strategic plan to improve campus facilities.
“We knew the renovations for the Marroney were going to be complete around that time. We wanted to do a big show that was worthy of the theater’s reopening,” said Danny Gurwin, the UA theater professor who is directing the musical thriller.
In the play, after Sweeney Todd was wrongly imprisoned for years in 19th-century London, he comes home hoping to find his wife and infant daughter.
Todd, who is a barber, reconnects with his landlord, Mrs. Lovett, who owns a meat pie shop on the first floor of his Fleet Street building. She encourages Todd to get revenge by killing people with his barber razors.
He wants revenge, and she wants business. It’s a killer combo; he kills them, and she bakes them into pies.
The Stephen Sondheim musical is based on Christopher Bond’s 1970 play, “Sweeney Todd.” It opened on Broadway in 1979 and won a Tony Award the same year for best musical. It was made into a movie in 2007 starring Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett.
Sweeney Todd can be a challenging and complex character to play.
“The character itself is fascinating to me because he’s the main character of the show, but he’s not your typical main character. He’s not a hero because he’s killing people and doing all these crazy things,” said James Kelley Carroll, who plays Sweeney Todd.
Carroll said he has had a blast putting this show together and cannot wait for audiences to see it.
Grace Gebara, playing the role of Mrs. Lovett, called the cast for “Sweeney Todd” “insane” and described her participation in the production as one of the best experiences she’s had.
“I knew the character, but it was really when I dove into the music and heard myself and saw myself doing it (that) I thought this would be a really great role for me,” Gebara said.
In January, she won best supporting performer in a musical from Broadway World for her work as Paulette in UA’s production of “Legally Blonde.”
“Sweeney Todd” runs through March 17, with a post-show discussion on March 15.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays, with an additional 1:30 p.m. matinee performance on March 16.
Tickets are $15 to $35 through tucne.ws/sweeney.
