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Jason Donovan Plays Sweeney Todd in New UK Tour
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 29, 2005
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The tour will bring audiences the same Watermill Theatre production that was the basis for the current Broadway revival. Last year, it was also a much-discussed hit in the UK, where the original staging at the small Watermill Theatre in Newbury led to a national tour and a West End production--first at Trafalgar Studios, then at the New Ambassadors. Directed and designed by John Doyle, the high concept Sweeney Todd has been praised for a staging that incorporates a cast of actors who also play instruments in their roles, and for its focus on Stephen Sondheim's intricate lyrics. On Broadway, the production also features Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, as well as Mark Jacoby, Manoel Felciano, Lauren Molina, Benjamin Magnuson and others.
The tour will kick off at the Theatre Royal Brighton on January 31st, 2006, and then will play 11 more venues in Milton Keynes, Richmond, Woking, Manchester, Bromley, Stoke-on-Trent, Glasgow, York, Wycombe, Birmingham and Plymouth through April 22nd.
Donovan was seen last year as eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts in the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Most famous for his role as Scott Robinson in "Neighbours," he has appeared on a number of other TV series--among them "MDA" and "Golden Pennies"--and on screen in films such as Ned, Horseplay and Rough Diamonds. He also appeared in the title role of a 1991 TV version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; he has previously done the show on the West End and was also seen in The Rocky Horror Show. As a pop star, Donovan has released many hit singles, including "Too Many Broken Hearts" and "Sealed with a Kiss."
Sweeney Todd features music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, who based the show on Christopher Bond's play (itself taken from an earlier melodrama). The original Broadway production opened at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979 with Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou and Victor Garber as stars. The ingeniously-staged production, which was the last of director Hal Prince's five great 70's collaborations with Stephen Sondheim, received 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical. A simplified production starring Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler ran at the Circle in the Square Theatre in 1989, and was dubbed Teeny Todd.
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