Posted By: Dr. Mark Dreisonstok on: September 28, 2026
Madison Cox as Johanna. Photo by Suzanne Carr-Rossi.
“It was revenge—bitter, uncompromising revenge!…The chain of revenge which Todd cherished […] in his cruel and most secret heart.” This is from The String of Pearls; Or, The Barber of Fleet Street. A Domestic Romance, the 1840s penny dreadful serial which introduced Sweeney Todd. “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, is based on Christopher Bond’s 1973 play and premiered on Broadway in 1979, winning the Tony and Olivier for Best New Musical. In this highly unusual show, revenge, horror, love, melodrama, and melodic (as well as dissonant) music unite in a strikingly engaging way. This is especially true in this excellent Riverside Center for the Performing Art production, superbly directed by Patrick A’Hearn.
…revenge, horror, love, melodrama, and melodic (as well as dissonant) music unite in a strikingly engaging way… excellent production…
The melodrama revolves around the barber Sweeney Todd, a victim of the villainous and lustful Judge Turpin. Turpin sentences Todd (then known as Benjamin Barker), on trumped-up charges, to exile in Australia so that he may rape Todd’s beautiful young wife, Lucy. The judge then adopts Todd’s daughter, Johanna, and raises her with the design to eventually make her his wife. With the help of a young sailor, Anthony Hope, Todd returns to England and takes up his old profession of barber, in hopes of exacting a terrible revenge on the unsuspecting Judge Turpin. It does this with the help of Mrs. Lovett, proprietor of a pie shop. Todd’s mind becomes so demented in his quest for revenge, he begins a string of serial killings, using his barber’s razor to dispose of his clients. An even more gruesome plot twist involves Mrs. Lovett’s scheme to dispose of Todd’s victims by way of her pie profession.
Surprisingly, this macabre plot is handled with great art in an almost operatic work (most of the lines are sung, not spoken). The production does the Stephen Sondheim musical full justice by way of an outstanding cast of singers, backed by top-rate musicians.
Sweeney Todd’s complex character was given great gravitas by the deep-voiced Christopher Sanders. Mr. Sanders achieves a delicate balance between his character’s sinister nature and his understandable rage at his ill treatment. “The Barber and His Wife” is an outstanding solo in which Mr. Sanders displays this balance as he recapitulates the story of the miscarriage of justice and Todd’s exile. Mr. Sanders duets beautifully with a fine Andy Wynn as Judge Turpin in the lyrical “Pretty Women.”
“Poor Thing” is sung operatically by Nancy Anderson, who turns in a marvelous depiction as Mrs. Lovett. She also gives a delightful performance in “By the Sea.” The barber’s assistant Tobias Ragg is portrayed well by John Sheldon, who assays “Not While I’m Around” wonderfully. Madison Cox as Johanna and Marco Giacona as Anthony Hope join forces admirably in their duet in the captivating number “Kiss Me.”
The musicians are uniformly top notch, and keyboardist and conductor Carson Eubank is in especially fine form in scenes creating a gothic pipe organ sound, adding significantly to the work’s gothic atmosphere. The period costumes by Bee Gable, the delightfully dreary sets of by Christian Fleming, and the restrained, dark lighting by Weston Corey also complement the show’s eerie. Victorian feel. This production would have much to recommend it at any time, but the plot and ambience is particularly suited for the Halloween season.
Running Time: Three hours, including a twenty-minute intermission.
Advisory: Adult themes and disturbing moments and therefore is not recommended for young children. Strobe lights are used during the performance.
“Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street” runs through October 25, 2026 at at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, 95 Riverside Parkway Fredericksburg, VA 22406. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 540.370.4300, Sunday: 12 pm – 3 pm; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 10 am – 6 pm; Thursday and Friday: 10 am – 7:30 pm; and Saturday: 12 pm – 7:30 pm; or go online.
