Rock ‘n’ Roll “Sweeney” Starts Perfs

The first rock orchestration of Stephen Sondheim‘s “Sweeney Todd” has begun performances as part of Landless Theatre Company’s “Summer of Rock.” Written by a team of arrangers known as The Fleet Street Collective, “Sweeney Todd – Prog Metal Version” will continue performances at Washington D.C.’s Warehouse Theatre through Aug. 31. Sondheim gave his blessing: “Yes, I did indeed give them my okay,” the Master said, “on condition that they don’t cut anything or change the order of things without my express permission. Since I believe that what keeps theater alive is its openness to reinterpretation from generation to generation, I look forward to seeing (and hearing) what they do.” Playbill claimed to have rehearsal footage, to give a sense of how this experiment sounds, but when you click on the link it says, “This video is private.” Hmm.

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