SWEENEY TODD Swings Its Razor At ShenanArts 9/17-27

ShenanArts is serving up the musical thriller, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a tale of all-consuming revenge. Directed by Hank Fitzgerald with music direction by Anne Wick Manes, the 1979 Tony Award-winning musical featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler is based on 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond. It opens September 17 at the Stage 4 theater and will play 8 performances from September 17-27, 2009. Sweeney Todd premiered on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979 and ran for 557 performances. The production was nominated for nine Tonys, winning eight, including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury) and Best Actor in a Musical (Len Cariou).

"Sweeney Todd is going to have people on The Edge of their seats, " said director Hank Fitzgerald, "It's a thrilling, gripping story. The music is amazing and difficult and I'm excited to have a great cast to pull it off."

Sweeney Todd tells the story of Benjamin Barker (Brian Holsopple), alias Sweeney Todd, who returns to London after being unjustly incarcerated for 15 years. When he learns from his former landlady Mrs. Lovett (Barbara Spilman Lawson) that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge (Bob Wright) who wrongly transported him, he vows revenge.

The 22-member cast also features the talents of Morgan McDowell (Anthony Hope), Jayne Gallagher (Joanna Turpin), Aaron Crosby (Tobias Ragg), A. Ross Neal (Beadle Banford), Sandi Belcher (Beggar Woman) and Jarod Kearney (Adolfo Pirelli). Rounding out the cast are Matthew Riley, Michael Riley, Hannah Woodrum,Lindsey Walters, Liz Leone, Shae Armstrong, Nancy Houseknecht, Lauren Preski, Elizabeth Brandon, Brad Rinaldo, Scott Woofter, Sam Barron and Derek Critzer.

Tickets for Sweeney Todd are $16 for reserved, $12 for general admission, and $8 for students. Performances are September 17-27, 2009, Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30pm, Sun. at 3pm. For tickets: Call (540) 248-1868. Advance tickets are available until noon on the day of the show. Stage 4 is located at the intersection of Route 11 and Hwy 612 in Verona, VA.

ShenanArts is a non-profit theatre that was organized in 1981. Their mission continues to be using theatre to build bridges within our community by producing plays for all generations: Youth-Growing Stages, Teen-Teen Theatre, and Multi-Generational Shows as well as adult-oriented plays. For more information, visit www.shenanarts.org.