Variety: Does London need another "Sweeney Todd"?
That's the question raised by the imminent West End return of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In 2005, the West End waved goodbye to a production of "Todd" at the 380-seat Trafalgar Studios, where it ran for just 18 weeks.
3 comments:
There were several things about this production that stood out. We don't typically hear about productions aimed at 26-week or so runs; they're either created to fit within a regional season, or to run until they can't anymore. It's intriguing because they may be able to rely on better audiences during that time, since people will rush to see it before it closes, and therefore the attendance will be less in the air. $3.2 is also very little money for a commercial theatre production.
On the creative side, I'd like to know more about why they're setting it in the 1930s, since there have been other revivals recently that have tried different takes.
I too would like to know what brought them to their decision to update the show to the 1930s, but alas this information is missing from the article.
I'm curious to see whether or not their 26-week plan succeeds. The track record for musical revivals is grim at best, yet they seem to have paid attention to this trend and are trying to rectify the situation.
Their budgetary constraints seem to have enhanced their focus on how to spend their money. They seem satisfied that the audience will notice where the money was spent and are confident that they are not sacrificing anything in quality.
Their plan seems very well thought at and poised for success. I hope they do well, Sweeny Todd is one of my favorite musicals.
The make it run until the house is empty model is a great way to make sure that you get the most bang for your buck but with this 26 week run people have at least a little job security. With so few jobs in theatre outside of academia with job security it is good to see a production that allows some semblance of job security in the commercial performance market.
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