While Patti LuPone is on vacation, Judy Kaye will hawk the worst pies in London as Sweeney Todd's tuba-playing Mrs. Lovett.
Tony Award-winner Kaye will step into the role for eight performances
from June 20th through 25th.
Sweeney Todd was
recently named Best Musical Revival by the Outer Critics Circle and
Drama League, and received a special New York Drama Critics Circle
Award. The production is nominated for 6 Tony Awards and 9 Drama Desk Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor (Michael
Cerveris), Best Actress (LuPone), Best Featured Actor in a Musical
(Manoel Felciano) and Best Director (John Doyle).
Produced by
Thomas Viertel, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and the
Ambassador Theatre Group, Adam Kenwright & Tulchin/Bartner/Bagert,
Sweeney Todd opened on Thursday, November 3, 2005, at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49 Street). the show centers on a barber who seeks revenge upon the man who defiled
his wife and stole his daughter. Sweeney hides his crimes with the help
of the crafty Mrs. Lovett. The high-concept production, originally a London hit, is helmed and designed by Doyle,
who staged the show with the performers playing instruments, as well as
wit such accoutrements as nine chairs, a ladder and a white coffin.
Sweeney Todd
features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Hugh
Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond. The production
features music supervision and orchestrations by Sarah Travis. The ten
member ensemble includes: Cerveris (Sweeney Todd), Mark Jacoby (Judge
Turpin), Donna Lynne Champlin (Pirelli), Felciano (Tobias), Alexander
Gemignani (The Beadle), John Arbo (Jonas Fogg), Diana DiMarzio (Beggar
Woman), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony), and Lauren Molina (Johanna).
Kaye, who is currently Tony-nominated for her recent work as a tone-deaf society matron in
Souvenir, won a Tony Award for her performance in
The Phantom of the Opera, and has also been nominated for her work in
Mamma Mia!. In addition to many Off-Broadway and regional credits, she has appeared on Broadway in
Ragtime, Oh, Brother!, The Moony Shapiro Songbook, On the Twentieth Century and
Grease.Tickets
are available at the Eugene O'Neill Box Office or at Telecharge.com/
(212) 239-6200. The performance schedule is: Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday
- Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday & Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 2pm.
Tickets for Sweeney Todd can be ordered by calling (212) 239-6200 or at the show's website,
www.sweeneytoddonbroadway.com.
