Why Sweeney Todd?
Because it’s fun. I was introduced to Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (along with other dark delights) by a close friend in high school. I’ve had a framed copy of the original cast album on vinyl on my wall ever since. The score and the book scared me but also excited me.
I think part of my interest is trying to untangle my fear of serial killers and of cannibals (I remember seeing Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest and trial on the news when I was a kid in the early nineties).
I’m also interested in digging into the source material. The character Sweeney Todd first appears in a penny dreadful published over the course of eighteen weeks between November 1846 and March 1847. Interestingly, the story takes place 61 years prior, just after England recognized the United States as an independent country.
Phase one.
In July 2024, at one of my favorite coffee shops in Newport, Rhode Island, I immersed myself in the original Sweeney Todd story The String of Pearls by James Malcolm Ryder. Inspired by its playfulness, melodrama, and sprawling narrative, I imagined a dynamic, athletic, quick-paced 80-minute dance theatre performance. I began building out my proposal and dramaturgy notes while staying at a home immediately adjacent to a very large, very old cemetery (pictured above).
Phase two.
In July 2025, I had the incredible opportunity to spend a week collaborating with the talented artists of Boston Dance Theater. Together, we explored and began developing a unique movement vocabulary and tone for the project. At the end of the week, the company hosted an informal work-in-progress showing for local dance leaders and potential supporters.
Sneak a Peek
Early material from my first residency with Boston Dance Theater, drawing on the original penny dreadful “The String of Pearls” as we explore characters, atmosphere, and shared space in the studio.
Phase three.
It’s October of 2026 and I’m heading back to Boston to continue developing the adaptation.