Interview: Brothers Nicholas & Jonathan Christopher Share What Performing Together in SWEENEY TODD Means to Them

Today is National Siblings Day! In celebration of the day, BroadwayWorld spoke with Broadway brothers Nicholas Christopher and Jonathan Christopher, who are currently performing in Sweeney Todd together on Broadway.

Nicholas is best known for his performances as Aaron Burr in Hamilton in LA, Benny in In the Heights in Puerto Rico, and much more. Jonathan has performed in the national tour Hamilton, Octet at Signature Theatre, and more, and is making his Broadway debut with Sweeney Todd!

In BroadwayWorld's interview, Nicholas and Jonathan discuss what performing together on Broadway means to them.

What is your first memory of performing together?

Nicholas: We would always be singing in the car together. We were always singing and performing together with our sister, Vanessa, but it wasn't until Jonathan was in high school, and Vanessa was in high school, that we all did Pippin together. Jonathan played the king, and I played the first person to be beheaded by Jonathan [laughs]. And the first night I forgot my lines!

Jonathan: And he just looked at me like, 'I don't know what to say!' [laughs]. And I think just said, "You're dying." I think I rolled my eyes too.

Nicholas: I'm pretty sure Jonathan rolled his eyes and went, "Ugh, off with his head!"

Jonathan: I was 13 or 14, and Nicholas was 11. And our older sister, Vanessa, kept us all in check from day one doing that. That's one of my big memories. But, I think, for me, the show that really solidified wanting to go into the business was when the three of us did Ragtime together with the youth academy at North Shore Music Theatre back in 2003. We all grew up in Bermuda, and then we moved to Boston, I was 10, Nick was seven, and our sister was 11. But really learning about American history in a way through that show, and the history of musical theatre in that show, with all the different styles, it made me realize, "This is exactly the path that I want to go down."

I have memories of us in the basement doing the 'Gettin' Ready Rag', sweating, because the choreographer told us we had the tightest hamstrings of anyone she had ever met in her entire life, all three of us! What was a gorgeous, full circle moment, the day after Sweeney Todd opened was the Ragtime 25th anniversary concert. And so, I got us tickets, my sister, Nicholas, and me, and we all sat next to each other. From the moment of the first downbeat to the end of the show we were all a puddle of tears.

What were your reactions when you learned that you would both be joining the company of Sweeney Todd?

Nicholas: Jonathan auditioned and booked the show first. I think you told me they were still looking for Pirelli, Jon? And then later that day I got an audition for Pirelli, the same day Jonathan and I talked about it. I never, ever thought in a million years that I would ever play Pirelli, but I knew that I wanted to be in a show with Jonathan, because it's been since we were in high school that we last did a show together. So, the opportunity to be able to hang out with Jonathan every day, to share his Broadway debut together, was really the driving force of me wanting to go and really throw my hat in the ring for Pirelli and try my best to be a part of the show in any way possible. I always wanted to be with my big brother, and I'd just follow him anywhere.

Jonathan, what does it feel like to be making your Broadway debut by your brother's side, and Nicholas what does it feel like for you to witness your brother making his Broadway debut?

Jonathan: It's surreal. Sweeney is one of my favorite musicals of all time and I've been able to perform it a few times before in different iterations, so to do this version with this cast, with my brother alongside... Nicholas told me something the night of the first preview, which I always try to do every day, to try to take mental pictures of specific moments. And that first curtain call we got to stand next to each other. We just put our arms around each other and looked out into the Lunt-Fontanne audience, and I took that breath in. And to have that collective memory not only with incredible people, but with your brother, is so special.

Nicholas: It's really tough to put into words, because I feel like it's such a flood of emotion, that whatever I'm going to say is going to be trying to describe something that's intangible. The first day that we walked into the rehearsal room, and I saw Jonathan in there, it was just such a sigh of relief. Because it's been a long time since I started a new show, I did Hamilton for so long, any sort of worries or any sort of fear I had walking into the rehearsal room the first day, I knew I was safe, and I knew I was protected by my big brother. Part of it feels so surreal, and the other part of it is like, when we got into the room together, we just hit stride like we always did. It feels regular, and it feels supernatural at the same time.

It's great to be sitting in a room, and to look across the room, and make eye contact with somebody, and you know exactly what they're thinking. Us giggling and getting in trouble because everybody is trying to focus [laughs]. And then what really makes it feel so much deeper is that I have an almost two-year-old at home, and she's now starting to pick up the guitar, and she loves to sing, and she loves to dance, and I can't even imagine what it must be like for my parents to see both of us up on stage at the same time.

Jonathan: Nick got to play Sweeney I think the second or third week into the run while Josh was indisposed for a couple of performances. And with the subject matter, this is a man who is doing whatever he can and will do, at first for his family, but then it's sort of a free-for-all, but at the end of the day, the core of it, it's a man taking 15 years to get revenge for his family. And that is such a core theme in the show, you get so blinded by what you'll do to protect those you love.

And watching Nicholas do that, and knowing where he is in his life now, as a father, and as a parent, and as a husband, and as a brother too, watching him play that on stage, it was devastating, but so beautiful, and so crafted, even though it happened so fast. He found out that afternoon that he was going to be playing Sweeney Todd on Broadway. And that's another moment I won't forget either, is watching him sing 'Pretty Women'. I can only conjecture what he was thinking about, knowing how deep he is as an actor, where he was going. And family is so important. And it can be so important that it blinds you into killing people and cooking them into pies! [laughs].

How has this experience changed your relationship as siblings?

Jonathan: It's been a gift to watch Nick craft his performance. Coming in as Pirelli with that big base drum, from the moment he walks in to the moment he leaves the stage, for that big contest scene... I was in the rehearsal room, we all were, as we watched him craft that performance with the choreographer, Steven Hoggett. And I was chomping at the bit watching his brain work, because it has been so long since we've worked together, seeing him as he calculated his craft, and calculated his movements as this character, and had everybody in stitches just trying things out. To see it from the beginning where he had a plethora of different tactics and choices that he made, to the crafted aria that it really is from the moment he enters the stage to the time he exits, that's been the real gift for me. Seeing how my brother, through 11/12 years of being in the business, works.

And then just being able to go into his dressing room and go [stage whispers] "Nicholas! I have to talk to you!" Even though I'm the older brother I'm kind of flighty and all over the place, and Nick is so grounded, so it's great to walk into that dressing room and just take a breath with him. And sometimes I just say, "I just need a hug." And we're on stage right together, even before we all enter the stage in the opening number. And we've kind of created a little family moment there too for the cast members, and the crew too. We just do a big circle-up, take a few breaths together, say a few words together, and it's so easy now. And it makes the show easy, and just looking at him I feel so grounded. And it's not necessarily anything that's changed, but I am so thankful, and grateful, that I get to watch him work every single day.

What has been the most exciting part for you both about being in the company of Sweeney Todd?

Nicholas: It's such a whirlwind. We were always very close because when we moved to Boston from Bermuda, us three siblings were really all we had, because we hadn't made any sort of friends yet. And Jonathan was always sort of this very quiet, very thoughtful person. And then through theatre, my sister and I were really able to see Jonathan bloom, and come into himself. And to watch his journey of self-discovery was so wonderful! But then once he went off to college at University of Michigan, I wasn't there as much to see his growth and his journey as a person, and as an artist, as a craftsman. So, to be able to be in the rehearsal room and watch Jonathan hold court every single day, and have a crowd of people around him just to hear what he's going to say next, has been so wild to see, to think of where this quiet, wonderful, thoughtful little boy has now bloomed into this force of nature, this energy in the room.

This group of people, this cast seems to be coming together in a very specific point in our lives, this is more of a spiritual journey for us all, so to have somebody in the room like Jonathan, when we're dealing with such a heavy subject matter, to break the tension with a joke, to give somebody a hug when they need it, to be a listening and guiding energy in the room, has really helped carve the path for the show for us as a cast, in terms of Jonathan's openness, in terms of his compassion and empathy. And then also his humor, and then also his talent on top of that, because he can sing every part in this show, including the alto line. So, Jonathan has been the barrier of emotion for this room that we've been in. He made it a safe space, he keeps it a safe space, and challenges us all to open up and to really bring our full selves to this project.

Do you have any final thoughts you'd like to share?

Jonathan: I love you, Nick!

Nicholas: [Laughs] I love you, Jon!

Jonathan: Happy National Siblings Day! We're very happy to be two siblings doing the same show on Broadway. I don't think we're the first and I certainly don't think we'll be the last. It's such a blessing to be able to bring the love that we have for each other and create an extension of that into our company. With Sweeney Todd, with this spectacular show, there is a lot of love in that space, and it's very exciting to go to work every day, because it's a lot of work to tell a story like this, it's so heavy. But, at the same time, it feels like home. We've been able to put a little bit of our Christopher magic into the Lunt-Fontanne. Nicholas made his Broadway debut in the Lunt-Fontanne ten years ago in Motown. There are so many cycles going on, not only between the two of us, but there are so many other relationships to the show, and to this process, and to this theatre with the cast. Something magical is happening over there on 46th street.