Back to All Events

Directing Thesis: Sweeney Todd


  • Flexible Performance Space (map)

Directed by Miles Sternfeld

Columbia University School of the Arts presents Sweeney Todd, a directing thesis production by current student Miles Sternfeld.

Experience a groundbreaking reimagining of Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler’s classic musical thriller about the infamous barber who returns home after fifteen years of exile to take revenge on the corrupt judge who ruined his life. This innovative production unfolds like a modern true crime documentary, exploring the psychological impact of violence on our culture and how society consumes and glorifies these narratives.

Showtimes

Thursday, February 20 @ 8pm
Friday, February 21 @ 8pm
Saturday, February 22 @ 2pm
Saturday, February 22 @ 8pm
Sunday, February 23 @ 2pm

Run Time

Approx.  2 hours and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission

Content Warning

Please be advised that this production is intended for adult audiences, and includes the following content: Graphic and Violent Death, including visibly detached limbs; Discussion of cannibalism; Intimations of Sexual Assault and Suicide; Simulated Sex; Gun Use; Graphic display of Bodily Fluids, especially blood.

Featuring

Jonathan Grunert - Sweeney Todd
Julia Meadows - Mrs. Lovett
Diego Millan - Anthony Hope
Josslyn Shaw - Johanna Barker
George Sopko - Judge Turpin
Jack Kotanen - Tobias Ragg
Marie Anello - Beggar Woman
Peter Sullivan - Beadle Bamford
Pasqualino Beltempo - Adolfo Pirelli
Ryan John - Jonas Fogg/Ensemble/Judge U/S
Evan Blackwell - Ensemble/Sweeney U/S
Allicia Lawson - Ensemble/Mrs. Lovett U/S
Izaya Perrier - Ensemble/Anthony U/S
Hannah Kulawiak - Ensemble/Vocal Captain/Johanna U/S
Colin Ring - Ensemble/Tobias U/S
Anna Kirkland - Ensemble/Beggar Woman U/S
David William Klak - Ensemble/Beadle U/S
Adam White - Ensemble/Pirelli U/S
Flynn Byun - Ensemble/ Dance Captain
Sadie Spivey - Ensemble

Production Team & Crew

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Based on an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Directed by Miles Sternfeld (current student)
Associate Director Denis Lambert
Producer Tatum Ludlam (current student) 
Production Stage Manager Fuyuan Zheng (current student)
Stage Manager Andrea Elizabeth Sicoli (current student)
Company Manager Melissa Marino (current student)
Music Director/Conductor Lena Gabrielle
Rehearsal Accompanist Sawyer Dahlen
Scenic Designer Brendan Gonzales Boston
Costume Designer Josh Oberlander
Lighting Designer Shane Hennessy
Sound Designer Julian Evans
Projection Designer Etzu Shaw
Prop Designer Trey Blevins
SFX/Blood Designer Steve Tollin
Hair & Makeup Designer Conor Donnelly

Musicians: Paul Brodhead (Trombone), Sawyer Dahlen (Keyboard), Phillip Fletcher (Trombone), Theresa Gardner (Violin), Beth McElroy (Percussion), Rick Nolting (Bass), Devin Oswald (Violin), Emmanuel Reyes (Trumpet), Rachel Rice (Cello) Danielle Breitstein (Viola)

About the Director

Miles Sternfeld is the Founding Artistic Director of New City Music Theatre, a professional company focused on re-conceptualizing widely celebrated musicals, and is completing his MFA in Directing at Columbia University under the mentorship of Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick.

He has directed performances featuring Tony winners and nominees, including Alice Ripley, Tony Yazbeck, Adrienne Warren, and Bonnie Milligan, in acclaimed productions such as Into the Woods, Songs for a New World, and The Who’s Tommy. His production of Jane Eyre earned a Superior Direction Achievement Award from the Cleveland Critics’ Circle and featured collaboration with Olivier Award Winner John Caird and Tony nominee Paul Gordon.

At Columbia, Miles directed new works including Aditya Lal Chadha’s Rot and Megan Rivkin’s Timmy, along with reconceptualized productions of Next to Normal, The Seagull, and Romeo and Juliet. Recently, Miles interned with Jamie Lloyd on the Broadway revival of Sunset Blvd and directed Broken Thread at the 14th St. Y. 

In addition to directing, Sternfeld has contributed to major productions, including Finding Neverland and The Great Society. He is a proud member of SDC and an alumnus of Point Park University and Fordham University.


   SWEENEY TODD
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A Musical Thriller

Book by
HUGH WHEELER

Music and Lyrics by
STEPHEN SONDHEIM


From an Adaptation by
CHRISTOPHER BOND

 Originally Directed On Broadway by
HAROLD PRINCE

Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick


Originally Produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards

 

SWEENEY TODD
Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com

 

This production is licensed by Music Theatre International.

Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.

Previous
Previous
February 20

'George's Daughter'

Next
Next
February 22

Lenfest Kids: ‘The Princess and the Frog’