Tony Awards nominations: ‘Sweeney Todd’ revival (almost) matches original 1979 production

When Jesse Green wrote in his New York Times review of this season’s revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” that the show had been “restored to its proper size,” he meant its orchestrations, staging, and ensemble, but he could have been forecasting its Tony Awards nominations success, too. This most recent remounting of the legendary Stephen Sondheim musical received eight Tony bids, the most of any musical revival of the year. But how does it stack up against the original production and the two revivals that preceded it?

While this “Sweeney” is back to its original scale, it is actually just shy of the very first production in terms of the Tonys, missing its nominations record by one. The original from 1979 netted nine bids for Best Musical, Director (Hal Prince), Actor (Len Cariou), Actress (Angela Lansbury), Score, Book, and Scenic, Costume and Lighting Designs. The production would go on to accomplish a near-sweep, winning eight of those trophies, all except for its lighting.

SEE 2023 Tony Awards nominations: ‘Some Like It Hot’ leads with 13, three plays tie with 6

A decade later, the demon barber would return to Broadway at the more intimate Circle in the Square Theatre. That production only ran for five months and had limited success at the Tonys. Although it netted four total bids — Best Revival, Director (Susan H. Schulman), Actor (Bob Gunton) and Actress (Beth Fowler) — it did not take home a single prize.

It took a radical reimagining of the work some 15 years later to enter the winner’s circle again. In 2005, director John Doyle relocated the play from Fleet Street to an asylum where the character Toby Ragg has been institutionalized, with the full pit orchestra replaced by the small acting ensemble playing their own instruments. Certainly a new interpretation, this stripped-down “Sweeney” rebounded the show at the Tonys earning six nominations for Best Revival, Director, Actor (Michael Cerveris), Actress (Patti LuPone), Featured Actor (Manoel Felciano as Toby), and Orchestrations. It won two for its orchestrations and for director Doyle.

SEE 2023 Tony Awards nominations surprises: ‘Ain’t No Mo’’ and ‘Cost of Living’ exceed expectations

Enter this season’s “Sweeney Todd,” which leaned fully into the grandeur of the original production, remounting the work in its full glory but with a twist on the material. As portrayed by Tony-nominee Josh Groban, Sweeney gradually descends into madness and homicide rather than enter from the start of “No Place Like London” maniacal and bloodthirsty. He and nominee Annaleigh Ashford make for a much more youthful-seeming pair, with the actress mining laughs with her physically-dexterous performance.

Its eight nominations include Best Revival, Actor (Groban), Actress (Ashford), Featured Actress (Ruthie Ann Miles), Choreography, and Scenic, Lighting, and Sound Design. This marks the first time that “Sweeney” has ever earned a Tony nomination for Featured Actress for The Beggar Woman, a role Tony-winner Miles brings to life most tragically. It is also the first time for choreography; Steven Hoggett has translated the theme of industrialization of the original work into the lumbering, almost mechanical movements of the ensemble.

SEE ‘Sweeney Todd’ reviews: ‘Irresistible’ revival of Stephen Sondheim masterpiece

But what held “Sweeney Todd” back from matching or even exceeding the tally of the original? Most glaringly, director Thomas Kail, who won a Tony for “Hamilton,” missed out on a nomination despite ranking second in our combined odds. Had he landed that anticipated bid, this production would have matched the original. The same goes for a nomination for Gaten Matarazzo in Featured Actor, who ranked sixth in our predictions. The actor offers a spellbinding performance of “Not While I’m Around” and would have made for a worthy nominee; he would have been only the second Toby to receive recognition, too.

“Sweeney” also missed out on the Costume Design category, where it has been nominated once before. Although certainly requiring a lot of costumes, the look of the London impoverished perhaps was not eye-catching enough to compete against a crowded field. Designer Emilio Sosa needn’t fret, though, seeing as he scored two other bids this year for his costumes for plays “Ain’t No Mo’” and “Good Night, Oscar.” And, of course, this production was ineligible for its Orchestrations since it has so appropriately returned to Jonathan Tunick’s originals.

PREDICT the 2023 Tony Awards through June 11

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?