Josh Groban to Star in 'Sweeney Todd’ Revival on Broadway

Josh Groban is returning to the theater stage to star in a Broadway revival of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," the Hollywood Reporter reports.

The 41-year-old singer and actor will be joined by Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford in the gory Stephen Sondheim-scored musical, which will be directed by "Hamilton" director Thomas Kail and produced by "Hamilton" producer Jeffrey Seller.

The revival will begon in previews Feb. 26 and is set to open on March 26 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City.

Groban announced the news Tuesday by sharing a short promotional video about the production on Instagram. "Attend The Tale. 02/26/23. @sweeneytoddbway," the Grammy nominee wrote in his caption.

The musical "Sweeney Todd," with a book by Hugh Wheeler, tells the story of the titular character (Groban), a barber living in London in the mid-1800s who conspires to murder his customers with the help of Nellie Lovett (Ashford), the owner of a neighboring meat pie shop.

The musical, based on a 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond, originally premiered on Broadway in 1979 and won eight Tony Awards including best musical, best book, best score and best direction for Hal Prince.

"Sweeney Todd" has been revived twice on Broadway and, in 2007, it was made into a Hollywood movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

Groban made his Broadway debut in the 2016 musical "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812," while Ashford has appeared in several Broadway productions, including "Kinky Boots," "Sunday in the Park with George" (opposite Jake Gyllenhaal) and "You Can’t Take It With You,"  for which she won the Tony Award for best featured actress in a play. 

The announcement of the revival of "Sweeney Todd" comes less than 10 months after Sondheim's death in November 2021 at age 91.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com