Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Book by Hugh Wheeler

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Based on an adaptation by Christopher Bond

​

Audition Dates:  

Sunday, June 25 and Monday, June 26 at 6:30pm with possible call backs on Wednesday, June 28 at 6:30pm.  Auditions will be held at the Basile Westfield Playhouse 220 N. Union Street, Westfield, IN 46074.  Please enter through the main lobby doors at the front of the building.  Auditions will be held on the stage.

​

​

How to Prepare:

Auditioners will read from the script and should prepare 16 measures of a song that demonstrates their vocal abilities. Auditioners will be permitted to sing with their own tracks. You may also bring sheet music in the correct key for the accompanist.

Rehearsals will begin July 24 and run Monday – Thursdays from 6:30 – 9:30PM. If you have any questions, please contact director Andrea Odle at aodle73@yahoo.com

​

Performance Dates: 

September 21 - October 1, 2023

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 pm.  Sunday shows begin at 2:30 pm.

​

Synopsis: 

Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to 19th century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett's luck sharply shifts when Todd's thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up... and the carnage has only just begun!

​

Roles to be cast: 

(All roles are open.)

​

A NOTE ABOUT CASTING:​ Today, London is—as it has long been—one of the most diverse cities in the world. Our production of ​Sweeney Todd​ is looking to cast an inclusive and diverse company of actors who reflect the world we live in today.  

A NOTE ABOUT ACCENTS​: Accents listed are not expected at auditions and will be worked on throughout the rehearsal process. If you’re comfortable performing any of these accents, please let us know during auditions and give it a try!

 

SWEENEY TODD: Sweeney escaped from prison after being wrongfully accused and jailed for fifteen years. Formerly a proud barber, a loving husband and a happy father, Sweeney is now consumed by loss and revenge. He has returned to London to right the wrongs committed against him, his wife, and his daughter. Sweeney is charming but hot-tempered, ferocious yet vulnerable. Speaks with an Estuary or London dialect

Male

Age: 40 to 55

Bass-Bari

Vocal range top: Gb4

Vocal range bottom: F2

 

MRS. LOVETT: An entrepreneurial meat pie shop owner who will do whatever it takes to survive. She is in love with Todd and hopes that he’ll forget the past and build a new life with her. At first shocked by Sweeney’s bursts of violence, Lovett turns his desire for revenge into a profitable business venture. She is resourceful, ambitious, charismatic, and has great comedic timing.

Speaks with a Cockney accent

Female

Age: 35 to 50

Alto

Vocal range top: E5

Vocal range bottom: G3

 

ANTHONY HOPE: A youthful sailor who helps Sweeney return to London and unexpectedly falls in love with Johanna. He is idealistic, romantic, and a little reckless. His passions sometimes get the better of his reason and his enthusiasm sometimes makes him unintentionally comedic. Over the course of the show, he awakens to the horrors around him and becomes disillusioned with London.

Speaks with a standard British accent (RP)  

Male

Age: 20 to 30

Tenor

Vocal range top: F4

Vocal range bottom: Bb2

 

JOHANNA: Todd's long-lost daughter and Judge Turpin's young ward. Home-schooled and largely homebound. She has a rebellious, subversive, and romantic streak and longs to escape her confinement. Johanna is aware that Judge Turpin isn’t her real father and suspects that he might be a predator. Like her father, she has experienced trauma and possesses a buried capacity for violence. ​Although described as “pale” and “yellow haired,” we are not taking this literally.

Speaks with a standard British accent (RP)

Female

Age: 18 to 21

Soprano

Vocal range top: A5

Vocal range bottom: Bb3

 

TOBIAS RAGG: A poor youngster apprenticed first to Pirelli and then to Mrs. Lovett. He is industrious and eager to please, with a good sense of humor. Uneducated, but innately clever and observant, Tobias responds quickly to the kindness of Lovett but grows increasingly suspicious of Sweeney. After a betrayal, Toby experiences the violence and terror of this world and snaps. Or maybe he just becomes like everyone else.

Speaks with a Cockney accent

Male (or female playing male)

Age: 12 to 18

Tenor

Vocal range top: Ab4

Vocal range bottom: Bb2

 

JUDGE TURPIN: A lecherous public official who portrays himself as a sanctimonious authoritarian. He takes advantage of his position to imprison Todd, assault Lucy, and take Johanna in as his ward. He is aware that what he wants and what he’s done is wrong yet chooses to ignore or push against his conscience. Embodies Puritanical hypocrisy: he lusts after Johanna, even as he professes to keep her innocent.

Speaks with a standard British accent (RP)

Male

Age: 50 to 65

Bass-Bari

Vocal range top: Gb4

Vocal range bottom: E2

 

THE BEADLE: A pompous public official who is responsible for the health and safety of London. He possesses a dry, deadpan sense of humor and enjoys wielding his power. He is not a sniveling civil servant. He is deeply loyal to Turpin, though in his heart of hearts he believes he’s better than the judge. The Beadle loves singing children’s nursery rhymes, which remind him of his youth.

Speaks with a standard British accent 

Male

Age: 40 to 55

Tenor

Vocal range top: D5

Vocal range bottom: D3

 

BEGGAR WOMAN: An eerie, poor soul living on the streets of London. She supports herself by begging and prostituting herself to sailors. The Beggar Woman is Sweeney’s wife, Lucy, who lost her mind after being assaulted by Turpin and taking poison. She has occasional flashes of lucidity and distrusts Mrs. Lovett. Like the oracle Cassandra, she is the only one who sees what’s happening, but no one will listen to her.

Speaks with a Cockney or Estuary accent

Female

Age: 35 to 50

Mezzo

Vocal range top: F5

Vocal range bottom: Ab3

 

ADOLFO PIRELLI: An Irish former employee of Sweeney’s who has since developed a public persona as a flamboyant and flashy world-famous Italian barber. A charlatan who sells fake medicine and challenges other barbers to shaving contests. Pirelli is charming, calculating, and over-the-top comedic. Possess some anti-English sentiments and does not take lightly to being publicly embarrassed by Sweeney.

Speaks in both an Italian and Irish accent

Male

Age: 30 to 45

Tenor

Vocal range top: C5

Vocal range bottom: B2

 

JONAS FOGG: The owner of Fogg's Asylum. Fogg sells the hair of inmates to wigmakers. Considers the inmates “children” and takes pleasure in showing them off to visitors. Chooses to ignore the human rights of his patients in the name of scientific progress. An authoritarian who is really a coward at heart. Speaking role who sings with the ensemble. 

Speaks with an Estuary dialect

Male

Spoken

Age: 35 to 60

 

ENSEMBLE: The ensemble acts as a Greek Chorus, commenting on the action and participating in the tale. They are the show’s chief storytellers, taking on the roles of customers, townspeople, police, inmates at the insane asylum, Sweeney’s thoughts, and Sweeney’s victims. They stand in for us and there is a feeling of them always being nearby, watching. The ensemble gets ample opportunities for vocal challenges and is showcased with solos and harmonies throughout the show. Sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones, and basses. Accents not necessary.  

​

​

​

 

​