In the iconic musical “Sweeney Todd”, adapted from a book of the same name by Hugh Wheeler, there is a wide range of characters to be met. Sweeney Todd is a deranged barber gone mad in grief of his (living/stolen) wife and daughter. His rage quickly inspires him to kill all of his clients. Mrs. Lovett, animated woman in love with Mr. Todd, gives him the idea to begin putting the dead customers into meat pies and selling them at her shop. The beggar woman is an insane woman who begs for money on the streets and is later revealed to be Sweeney’s wife, though neither of them can tell for the duration of the musical. Toby is a naive young boy who quits his job selling false hair growth products with a strange man to help Mrs. Lovett in the shop.
Through the years the characters have been played by many big names. The original Broadway cast included Angela Lansbury, a Broadway actress from the 1970s-1980’s, as Mrs Lovett. Since then, roles have been played by other famous actors, such as Patti LuPone, Len Cariou, and George Hearn. The reason for having many actors over the years is largely due to revivals of the show. The original show was on Broadway in 1979, there was a revival in 1989, 2005, and lastly 2023. The 2023 revival had a wonderful cast with many well-known actors. The cast included Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd, Jordan Fischer as Anthony, Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs Lovett, and Gaten Matarazzo as Toby. However, as the run is almost at a close there is an even newer cast! This cast includes Aaron Tveit and Sweeney, Sutton Foster as Mrs Lovett, Daniel Yearwood as Anthony, and Joe Locke as Toby.
While all of these actors are quite famous and excellent in their craft, I believe that some are better for the parts than others. For example, I love Josh Groban. He’s played roles such as Anatoly Sergievsky in Chess in Concert and The Beast in Beauty and the Beast. He is considered a baritone, just short of being a tenor with a relatively deep tone. On the other hand, Aaron Tveit has played roles such as Pippin in Pippin and Gabe in Next to Normal. He is known to have a sweet tenor voice. While I do love Aaron Tveit, I personally think that a character as dark and deep as Sweeney Todd should have a deeper and scarier voice. Moreover, Sweeney was written to be a bass/baritone, so his songs sound better when people with that vocal range perform them.
Another example is with Mrs Lovett. Annaleigh Ashford is known for roles such as Dot in Sunday in the Park With George and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sutton Foster is known for roles such as Fiona in Shrek and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. Clearly, the women are both skilled actors who are great at portraying silly characters! However, Ashford has a tendency to make her characters a bit too silly. It makes her intentions and true feelings unclear and her words difficult to understand. For these reasons, I think Sutton Foster is more fitting for the part.
Last is a part I’m torn on. Tobias was played by Gaten Matarazzo and is now played by Joe Locke. Gaten is known for roles such as Dustin in Stranger Things and Jared in Dear Evan Hansen. Joe Locke is known for roles such as Charlie in Heartstopper and himself in The Great British Bake Off. While in technicality, both actors are too old for the part, both young adults are more than capable of achieving the young, innocent, and naive personality of the character. While, of the two, Gaten Matarazzo has much more musical theater experience than Joe Locke, I believe they are both nearly equally fit to play the role of Tobias.
Of course, I am no expert, just a theater kid who wanted to rant. However, I hope you enjoyed said rant. If you know any of these actors or have seen the show, I’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions!
