Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A Musical Thriller

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally Directed On Broadway by Harold Prince
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunic
Originally Produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards in Association with Dean and Judy Manos

There will be one 20 minute intermission

Friday, October 31, 7:30-10:00 pm
Sunday, November 2, 2:30-5:00 pm

Tonight’s performance utilizes English supertitles projected above the stage making the dialogue and lyrics accessible to all audience members. Opera fans are encouraged to laugh, cry, gasp, applaud, and shout Bravo, Brava, or Bravi Tutti!

Content Warning:

The production contains simulated depictions of sexual assault without nudity, violence, gore, gun use, and death.
This production is suitable for individuals familiar/comfortable with content aimed at PG-13 rating.

The Story (without spoilers)

London, 1846, a city where smoke chokes the skyline, industry hums like a restless beast, and morality hides behind polished facades. Its streets teem with merchants, beggars, and the forgotten, while whispers of corruption echo through the parlors of the powerful. Into this uneasy world walks a man returning from exile; a barber once known for his steady hand and quiet grace, now hardened by years of injustice. His name is Sweeney Todd, though the man he once was has long since vanished into memory.

Seeking a place to begin again, Todd finds himself on Fleet Street, where he meets Mrs. Lovett, a lively but world-weary baker whose pie shop struggles to survive in a city rich in vice and poor in mercy. She is a woman of wit and practicality, as comfortable with schemes as she is with sentiment. In the stranger’s haunted eyes, she senses both danger and promise ... and perhaps a chance to resurrect her fortunes. Together, they strike an unlikely partnership that teeters somewhere between necessity and something darker.

Beneath the surface of their enterprise lies a city equally desperate and cruel. A powerful judge, cloaked in righteousness, rules over the lives of others with hypocrisy and hidden sin. His loyal servant, ever watchful, enforces his will with the precision of a blade. Meanwhile, a young sailor named Anthony, full of naïve hope, dreams of a future with a girl he glimpses in a window; a girl who knows little of freedom and even less of trust. In her confinement, Johanna hears the distant calls of the city and sings of the life beyond her reach.

As these threads intertwine, the story deepens into a portrait of obsession, secrecy, and desire. Mrs. Lovett, ever resourceful, tends her ovens and dreams of something resembling love. Anthony plots escape, guided by optimism too pure for the world around him. And Sweeney — consumed by the ghosts of betrayal — sharpens his razors not merely for profit, but for justice, or what passes for it in his eyes.

All the while, a beggar woman drifts through the alleys, muttering half-truths and broken memories, glimpsing the connections others cannot bear to see. Her ramblings go mostly ignored, but her presence clings to the story like a warning.

When paths finally converge, London itself seems to tremble; its smoke, its sorrows, and its secrets folding into one another. What begins as a barber’s return becomes a descent into vengeance; what begins as an opportunity becomes a pact sealed in desperation. In this world, even tenderness can be dangerous, and no act of love or hate escapes its cost.

Sweeney Todd is an opera. Sweeney Todd is an upside down musical. Sweeney Todd is a legend and a force of nature. The piece comes with many iconic performances, designs, and legends behind it, meaning being called to direct it feels like a massive undertaking.

When Opera Idaho General Director, Stacey Trenteseaux, called me over a year and a half ago with the question every staging director wants to and fears receiving — Do you want to direct Sweeney Todd? — I was both honored and dumbfounded. How could anyone think I was worthy of tackling such a massive piece of art? How could I enter the giant machine that is Sweeney Todd with as much grit, humor, humanity, and resilience that this piece requires? 

In some ways, this became the story of the piece for me: How does a human enter the machinery of a corrupt and selfish society and retain their humanity? The horror of London when the source material was written (a Penny Dreadful) became the centerpiece for me: the industrial revolution in full swing, the law operating with impudence, and imposed poverty ravaging its citizens until they make decisions we call horrific. 

The machine grabs them by the right hand and gobbles them up, turning a wrongfully imprisoned man into a murderer set on revenge so blindly that he can’t see his own humanity right in front of him. Sweeney’s hubris is what makes the piece an opera. The terror he inflicts on everyone in his vengeance is the tragedy.

No one is spared, not even those who survive. And those survivors are the ones who must look out at us, tasked with telling the tale of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. 

Words. Notes. Rhythms.

Three simple elements. Yet when woven together in that singular way only Stephen Sondheim could manage, something extraordinary always emerges — something magical, every time.

I remember vividly my first encounter with Sondheim. It was the original Sweeney Todd cast recording — on vinyl. My high school band director had chosen a selection from Sweeney Todd for our fall marching show, and I was instantly captivated by the sonorities, textures, and unexpected turns of harmony. One afternoon, curiosity led me to Dr. Spear’s office, where I asked him about the show. He smiled, handed me his cherished record, and told me I could borrow it. That night, as the needle met the groove, I became obsessed — and, in that moment, my life changed forever.

Not long after, the touring production of Into the Woods came through my hometown. I bought a ticket and sat in the civic center theater, utterly transfixed from the first note to the last. After the performance, I waited by the stage door to meet the actors, still reeling from what I had just witnessed. A few years later, during my undergraduate studies, the theater department staged Assassins, and I had the privilege of playing in the pit and assisting with the conducting.

Over the course of my career, I’ve had the joy of conducting many of Sondheim’s masterpieces. Each time, I find myself returning to that fifteen-year-old kid on the marching band field in West Monroe, Louisiana — filled with wonder, awe, and that same unshakable sense of reverence.

In Sunday in the Park with George, Sondheim quotes Georges Seurat: “Order, Design, Composition, Tension, Balance, Light, and Harmony.” It’s as if Sondheim was channeling Seurat’s artistic spirit into his own process — distilling the essence of art itself into a musical language all his own.

Words. Notes. Rhythms. Sondheim made them sing.

Soprano:
Caitlin Carlberg, Kristen Dittman, BrieAnne Welch, Shelby DeBoard-Ulrich (Johanna Cover), Melissa Bagwell, Sarah Smith

Mezzo-Soprano:
Amanda Gardner, Melinda Harper, Shelby Boice, Angela Sprague, Aubrielle Holly

Tenor:
Joe Colletti (Pirelli Cover), Alexander Hill, Tommy Duff, Jonathan Perry, Parker Pratt (Bird Seller)

Baritone/Bass:
Colin Cho (Jonas Fogg), Erik Noyce, Brayden Olson, Eliot DeHaven, Gregory Watts (Turpin Cover)

Covers:
Cody Boling (Beadle Cover), Jason Detwiler, baritone (Sweeney Todd Cover), Michele Detwiler (Mrs. Lovett Cover)

Supernumeraries:
Mia Hoffman, Lili Prihode Aldana, Kyle Vega, Abigail Miller, Don Reiman, Conner Schumacher

Opera Idaho Orchestra is represented by Greater Idaho Musicians’ Association, Local 423 of the American Federation of Mucisians

Violin I: Kathy Stutzman,¹ Lauren Folkner, Jessica Harned

Violin II: Dawn Douthit,² Heather Calkins, Alex Nicholls

Viola: Dave Johnson,² Linda Kline

Cello: Micah Claffey,² Stephen Mathie

Bass: Ryan Petriello,² Nathan May

Flute: Melanie Keller (flute/piccolo/recorder),² Christina Yarnot (flute/piccolo)

Oboe/English Horn: Ryan Klein²

Clarinet: Bryn Huntington (Eb Clarinet),² Leslie Moreau (Bass Clarinet)

Bassoon: Janelle Oberbillig²

Horn: Brian Vance²

Trumpet: Derek Ganong,² Zach Buie

Trombone: Sarah Paradis,² Luke Strother, Bill Waterman

Timpani: Matt Grady²

Percussion: Kramer Milan²

Keyboard: Betsi Hodges²

Harp: Merinda Christensen Starnes²

^{1. Concert Master, 2. Principal}

Rose Freeman, Stage Director
Andy Anderson, Music Director/Conductor
Toni Machi, Associate Director/Intimacy Director
James Haycock, Scenic & Projections Designer
Keri Fitch, Costume Designer
Danyale Cook, Hair/Makeup Designer
David Goodman-Edberg, Lighting Designer
Kelly Kaye, Chorus Master/Titles Operator
Rachael Fry, Props Manager
Yurek Hansen, Choreographer
Dakotah Brown, Dialect Coach
Colin McFadden, Sound Engineer
Anthony Colombo, Production Director
Nico Hewitt, Technical Director
Rachel Kilgore, Stage Manager
Carlyn Jones, Assistant Stage Manager
Melanie Keller, Orchestra Personnel Manager
Dr. C. Michael Porter, Education Outreach Coordinator
Kerry Calverley, Children’s Chorus Director
Betsi Hodges, Staff Pianist
Dianna Hite-Smith, Production Assistant
Chris Pedersen, Master Carpenter
Nick Roberts, Carpenter
Rob Tucker, Carpenter
Amandalynn Lovewell, Scenic Charge
Ciera Tucker, Scenic Painter
Brecken Bird, Scenic Painter
Arabella Lytton-Gay, Scenic Painter
Jenna Adsitt, Design Assistant/Construction/Wardrobe
Grace Burgess, Construction/Wardrobe
Sydney Routin, Construction/Wardrobe
Mia Tureson, Construction
Shawna Gee, Wardrobe
Tawny Fox, Hair/Makeup Artist
Amanda Woods, Hair/Makeup Artist
Blayke Secord, Hair/Makeup Artist
Satya Linak, Hair/Makeup Artist
Natalia Vasquez, Hair/Makeup Artist

LUMINARY • $75,000+
Morrison Center Endowment Foundation 

FOUNDER • $10,000+
Caroline Morris* 

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE • $5,000+
Joanne Anderson
Maji & Dr. Brad Daines 
Patty & Eric Thomsen* 

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE• $2,500+
Kristen & Jason Dittman* 

LIFEBLOOD • $1,000+
Boise City Department of Arts & History 
Bae Emilson* 
John Howell* 
Dr. Mary L. Langenfeld 
Ellen McKinney* 
Lois Ortmann 
Laura C. Simic* 
Stacey Trenteseaux & Jeremiah Johnson* 

CHAMPIONS • $500+
Mihaela Bozdog & Steve Mills 
The Egyptian Theatre 
Alysson Heazle 
Adrian San Miguel & Jim Davis-San Miguel* 

AMBASSADOR • $300+
Judith Austin & Don Bott* 
Jo Anne Minnick 
Mr. Bruce Moberly (CMVA) 
Miranda Pilacio, Silk Touch Med Spa 
Heather & Mike Sharpes 
Joy & Thomas Thyer*

FRIENDS • up to $299
Sage Agbonkhese 
Maribel Alvarado 
Anonymous 
The Arid Club 
Jens Braun 
Meet Burns 
Robin & Aldo Cabrini 
Dr. Anne Church 
Joe Colletti 
Gail Conn 
Jake Dahl 
Anne & David Dickau (CMVA) 
Laura Fisher 
Michael Gibson 
Health Solutions of Idaho 
Mr. Anthony Hickman 
Mary Lewellen 
Annie Meissner 
Randall Merilatt 
Karen Midlo 
Marica Nelson 
Christina Olson 
Payette Brewing 
Rosemary & Tom Reinhardt 
Ann Sandven (CMVA) 
Beverly Schumacher 
Niko Snyder 
Wahooz 
Karen Whittaker 
Keith Williams 
Kenneth Willman 

CMVA • $500+ in support of Critical Mass Vocal Artists
Boise City Department of Arts & History 
Merri & Willis Carr 
Melissa Dodworth 
Norman & Bonnie Hollenbeck 
Mary & Boyd Leavitt 
Mr. Bruce Moberly 

NEW 2025-2026 SPONSORSHIPS as of October 1, 2025
D.A. Davidson of Boise – Cast Party Host Partner 
Hawley Troxell – All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (BCT collaboration) 
Rafanelli & Nahas – Sweeney Todd Dressing Rooms 

IN HONOR AND MEMORY
In honor of Dr. Brad Daines
    Joanne Anderson

In honor of Jyl Hoyt
    Robert Vestal 

In honor of Cecilia Violetta López 
    Lindsay & Winston Bruns 
    Bae Emilson 
    Leslie & Marshall Garrett 
    Mary & Boyd Leavitt 
    Laura C. Simic 
    Janice & Michael Tancredi 

In Memory of Henry Ortman
    Lois Ortmann 

* Sustaining monthly donors