Culture Cabinet

Eighteen years after its last Broadway revival, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is haunting Broadway once again. The latest revival, starring John Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, opened on Broadway on March 26, 2023, and has maintained its status as one of the hottest tickets in town since. Amidst Tony Awards performances, TikTok acclaim, and even principal casting changes, the release of the cast recording has been highly anticipated by theater fans for nearly six months. Now, it has finally arrived. 

Sweeney Todd originally opened on Broadway in 1979, with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury leading the production as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. Since then, the show has received treatment from productions in the West End, national tours, Broadway revivals, and a 2007 film directed by Tim Burton. As such, the options for listening to this iconic Sondheim score seem nearly endless. This particular musical has been adapted in a number of different ways, with each cast bringing their own take on these complex characters. Thus, when another production enters the arena, and notably doing so as the first production of this musical to grace Broadway after Sondheim’s death in 2021, the challenge arises in distinguishing itself from other productions. 

However, from every facet of the production, this particular revival has risen to the challenge: from the inspired casting, to the superb set and lighting design, to brilliant choreography, and now, unsurprisingly, through its cast recording. 

The obvious stand out of this album, of course, is the vocal showcase of Josh Groban. While Groban has earned a reputation amongst theater fans, grandmothers, and Gleeks alike for having vocal pipes of gold, his voice feels tailor made for this score. While a recording could never fully capture the thrill of watching these numbers live (particularly with numbers like “Epiphany” or “A Little Priest”), Groban manages to capture the heart and soul of his interpretation of the titular character throughout, ultimately reminding the listener of the passion he clearly has for this particular musical. Also apparent throughout the recording is the chemistry that he shares with Annaleigh Ashford, who manages to showcase her bubbling and deceptively sweet take on Mrs. Lovett. Her solo numbers, such as “By the Sea” and “The Worst Pies in London” maintain the comedic brilliance that she exhibits on stage. 

This album also showcases the talent of the supporting cast, such as Maria Bilbao’s angelic “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” and Jordan Fisher’s “Ah, Miss.” “Johanna (Act 2 Sequence)” provides a harmonious offering of vocal ecstasy, as the voices of Groban, Fisher, and Bilbao blend beautifully. Though, of course, all songs are only made all the more pleasing to the ears by the 26-piece orchestra that this production rightfully boasts. 

While this cast album is near perfect, it loses a bit of the cohesiveness in the way it chooses to divide some of the songs. While some songs, like “Pretty Women,” “Ladies in Their Sensitivities,” and “The Final Scene” are historically presented on cast recordings as one song, this production has chosen to divide some of the songs into smaller pieces. While this certainly works for a song like “The Final Scene,” which feels like a series of smaller songs within itself, it doesn’t quite make sense for a song like “Pretty Women.” This also paves the way for some moments in the show to become lost, such as Pirelli’s entrance (a more trademark moment of that scene), the dialogue shared between Mrs. Lovett and Beadle Bamford during “Parlor Songs,” or Tobias’ full final monologue in “Final Scene.” Dividing the last part of the final scene into one less-than-two-minute-long song makes an ending that tends to already feel a bit rushed as it is feel even more rushed. However, the transition does play well into the final “Ballad of Sweeney Todd.” 

However, none of these cuts are fatal to the cohesiveness of the album on whole, and the performances featured make it a worthy addition to the canon of not only modern Sondheim revivals, but interpretations of Sweeney Todd on whole. For this listener, at least, it may even become the Sweeney cast recording of choice.