Photos: Joe Locke Takes His First Bows In SWEENEY TODD On Broadway

Joe Locke, the breakout star of Netflix’s hit show “Heartstopper,” is making his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-nominated revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Locke began his run as Tobias beginning Wednesday January 31, 2024. See photos from inside Joe's first curtain call!

Locke can currently be seen starring as Charlie Spring in Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” an adaptation of the webcomic and graphic novel of the same name by Alice Oseman. He made his professional stage debut in The Donmar Warehouse’s production of Dawn King’s The Trials in 2022, for which he won the Best Professional Debut Award at this year’s What’s On Stage Awards. Next year, he will star alongside Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone in Disney+/Marvel’s “Agatha: Darkhold Diaries,” based on the Marvel Comics character Agatha Harkness. 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, and is directed by Thomas Kail. The revival is led by producer Jeffrey Seller.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street began performances on February 26, 2023, and opened on March 26, 2023, at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036).

For the first time since 1980, Broadway audiences can experience Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award®–winning score as it was performed in the original production—with Jonathan Tunick’s original 26-player orchestration on an epic scale. Tony Award–winning director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) helms the return of the musical thriller.

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s landmark musical, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond, tells the tale of a resourceful pie shop owner and a vengeful barber out for blood. After he’s sent away by a corrupt judge, Sweeney returns to London years later seeking his long-lost family, and forms an unlikely partnership with Mrs. Lovett, who serves up pies underneath his former shop. Together, they wreak havoc on Fleet Street and serve up the hottest – and most unsettling – pies in London.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the winner of two 2023 Tony Awards for “Best Lighting Design of a Musical” (Natasha Katz) and “Best Sound Design of a Musical” (Nevin Steinberg). The production was nominated for six additional 2023 Tony Awards, including “Best Revival of a Musical,” “Best Leading Actor in a Musical” for Josh Groban, and “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” for Annaleigh Ashford. Sweeney Todd is also the winner of three 2023 Drama Desk Awards: “Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical” (Annaleigh Ashford), “Outstanding Direction of a Musical” (Thomas Kail), and “Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical” (Natasha Katz). Annaleigh Ashford also received the 2023 Drama League “Distinguished Performance Award” for her role as Mrs. Lovett.

 Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas