Chichester Sweeney Confirms West End Transfer, 20 Mar Date: 4 November 2011
Please note: This story has been updated to include the press night date of 20 March 2012.
As previously tipped, the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, starring Michael Ball in the title role alongside Imelda Staunton as Mrs Lovett, will transfer to the West End's Adelphi Theatre in March next year.
The production, which is directed by Jonathan Kent, finishes its Chichester run tomorrow (5 November 2011) and will transfer to the Adelphi from 20 March (previews from 10 March 2012), following the run of the National Theatre's One Man, Two Guvnorsstarring James Corden.
Sondheim’s 1979 Broadway musical, which has a book by Hugh Wheeler, was last seen in London in 2005 in John Doyle’s actor-musician Watermill Theatre revival, which had an extended season at Trafalgar Studios and then at the New Ambassadors, won two Whatsonstage.com Awards and later transferred to Broadway where it won two Tony Awards.
The production is designed by Anthony Ward, with choreography by Denni Sayers, lighting by Mark Henderson, musical direction by Nicholas Skilbeck and sound by Paul Groothuis.
It will mark the first return to the West End for Michael Ball since his multi award-winning turn as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.
He has changed his image considerably to tackle the Demon Barber, slimming down and growing a goatee. He told the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye his new look has raised a few eyebrows. "They’ve been shocked and surprised," he said, "but the response has been good because I wanted to shake up what I do."
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