There's been a lot of great coverage of the upcoming film version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp, and great reviews of the current national tour of the recent Broadway production have been pouring in. Florida's TC Palm newspaper has taken a look at a more under-reported but still important reworking of the play: the very first "School Edition," which premieres this weekend.
There's been a lot of great coverage of the upcoming film version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp, and great reviews of the current national tour of the recent Broadway production have been pouring in. Florida's TC Palm newspaper has taken a look at a more under-reported but still important reworking of the play: the very first "School Edition."
This weekend, November 9–11, the Lyric Theatre in Stuart, Florida, 19 students from the town's StarStruck Performing Arts Center will unveil the world premiere of the school version of the play. The students were part of the pilot phase to create an adaptation of the original script that schools across the country can perform, and the composer's been involved along the way, sending changes to the troupe via e-mail.
For the director of the production, StarStruck's co-owner Jennifer Jones, helping to bring new, more challenging fare like Sweeney to school-age performers has been a reward in and of itself. As she tells the TC Palm, “We were really into doing more and more difficult material with the kids.”
To read the article, visit tcpalm.com. For information on tickets to the StarStruck production, visit lyrictheatre.com.
Listen to the Nonesuch recording of the 2005 Broadway production here. The soundtrack to the upcoming Tim Burton–directed film starring Johnny Depp is due out December 18.