For Immediate Release – November 1, 2024

The latest joint offering from local collaborators Judy Russell and the Prince George Symphony Orchestra seeks to engage the community in a new way.  Sweeney Todd is a self-styled musical thriller, and a darkly comic take on this Victorian tale of a murderous London barber by Broadway icon Stephen Sondheim.  A favourite with audiences since its premiere in 1979, the original production won eight Tony awards and has met with critical acclaim, multiple revivals, and a movie starring Johnny Depp.

Well known for their biannual productions of The Nutcracker, Sweeney Todd is definitely a bit of a recent departure for the two organizations.

 We were so excited to work together with Judy again for this amazing musical,” said PGSO Music Director Michael Hall.  “When we started looking for another project to collaborate on, we really looked at all sorts of different shows, but Sondheim is just so musically rich and really shows off the orchestra in an exciting way.”

“It’s campy, it’s funny, it’s got great music – what’s not to love?” added Judy Russell.  “This is a Broadway classic that really shows off the incredible range of local artistry we are so fortunate to have in our community.”

The entire cast and creative team is made up of artists from Northern BC.

Caleb Oman drives in from Burns Lake for every rehearsal. It's his first show at this scale with a full orchestra. "It's been really cool, " he says. "When I was younger, I never thought I would be into theatre, but now it's what I want to do.  It's really exciting to have a show like this in the North that I can be a part of!"
 
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – a Musical Thriller
Sponsored by Marcotte Law

Four performances, November 15-17 at 7:30pm and November 17 at 2:00pm
Vanier Hall

Tickets and more information at tickets.PGSO.com
Sweeney Todd is licensed by Music Theatre International
--
Media contact - Ken Hall, Executive Director (PGSO) - ken@pgso.com
 
Creative Team
Director - Judy Russell
Musical Director (PGSO) - Michael Hall
Music Director (JREDC) – Robin Norman
Technical Director and Stage Design - Bill Russell
Technical Director and Audio/Visual Design Jon Russell
Costume Manager - Heather McGowan
 
Production Team
Asst. Director – Shelby Meany
Asst. Costume Manager - Katie Faucher
Seamstresses - Stephanie Derksen
Make Up and Hair - Nicole Kamensek, Laura Heagy
Props Manager - Gisele Gamache

Audio Tech - Conner Pritchard
Onstage Manager - Quin McGowan
Onstage Asst. Right - Nicole Kamensek
Onstage Asst. Left - Laura Heagy

 
Principal Cast
Sweeney Todd            David Leach
Mrs. Lovett                 Kathy Pereira
Anthony Hope             Curtis Abriel
Johanna                      Shelby Meaney
Tobias Ragg                Chase Warmerdam
Judge Turpin               Jim Anderson
The Beadle                  Scott Roberts
Beggar Woman            Zarrah Holvick
Adolfo Pirelli                 Bradley Charles
Jonas Fogg                  Jon Chuby
The Bird Seller             Leland Nuttall
Man                              Caleb Oman
Another Man                 Brian Hogan
 
Chorus
The Killer Sopranos
Paige Marriott
Beverley Smith
Sharon Macdermott
Laura Buchanan

The Brutal Baritones
Avi Chretien
Mike Buchanan
Marian Roesch
Claire Westerlaken
Angela Osmachenko
 
The Audacious Altos
Julie Forrest
Ayanna Kenya
Elsa Winnig
Ellie Prendergast
Rachel Freschi
Lee Hilder
Gigi Pritchard
Elizabeth Morris
 
The Treacherous Tenors
Anthony Gagne
Leland Nutall
Julie Fisher
Jonathon Vander
Bradley Charles
 
The Beastly Basses
Caleb Oman
Charlie Azrael
Brian Hogan
Mark Johnson
Glenn Thielmann