Sweeney Todd makes its debut at the Springfield Muni

Sweeney Todd makes its debut at the Springfield Muni

Springfield, IL – July 6, 2016 – The Springfield Municipal Opera (The Muni) continues its 2016 season with Sweeney Todd, sponsored by Maynerich Financial and directed by Carly Shank. The production will run July 8-10 and 13-17. Curtain time is 8:30 p.m.

This will be the first time Sweeney Todd is performed on The Muni stage. This dark comedy won a Tony award in 1979 for Best Musical, and features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and is based on the 1973 play, “Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” by Christopher Bond.  

This is a musical for mature audiences only due to its dark nature. It is the unsettling tale of a Victorian-era barber who returns home to London after fifteen years of exile to take revenge on the corrupt judge who tore his family apart. When revenge eludes him, Sweeney Todd and his accomplice, the resourceful pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett, plot an indiscriminately murderous plan that leads them down a dangerous path with deadly consequences.

Shank says John O’Connor (Sweeney Todd) and Meredith Vogel-Thomas (Mrs. Lovett) will lead us on the journey. “Walking a mile in Sweeney Todd's shoes helps us understand more about the extremes of the human condition,” said Shank. “It forces us to consider the times in our own lives when we have let the wrongs committed against us control us. Did we make better choices than the Demon Barber of Fleet Street? Of course we did. Could we have made even better choices? Of course we could have. We learn and we continue to get better at this job of being human.”

Two types of seating arrangements are available – Reserved Seating and General Admission (lawn seating.)

The price of Reserved Seating is $14 for adults and $12 for seniors/military/students/children; General Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors/military/students, $6 for children (age 3-12), and free for kids age 2 and under.

Additionally, Wednesday, July 13 has been designated as Family Night and Thursday, July 14 as Senior Night.

For families, ticket prices for children 12 and under are half price when accompanied by a paid adult – $6 for Reserved Seating and $3 for General Admission (But please remember Sweeney Todd is recommended only for adult audiences). For seniors, ticket prices are reduced to $11 for Reserved Seating and $7 for General Admission. A Senior Shuttle Bus Service, sponsored by the King’s Daughters Organization, will also run on Senior Night.  

An interpreted performance for the hearing impaired is scheduled for Friday, July 15.

Reserved Seating tickets can be purchased in advance online – www.TheMuni.org – or by calling or visiting the Sangamon Auditorium Box Office at 217-793-MUNI (6864.) Patrons can also purchase Reserved Seating and General Admission tickets on-site at The Muni’s Box Office, which opens 90 minutes prior to curtain time.

About The Muni

The Springfield Municipal Opera (The Muni) is a not-for-profit theatrical organization that has become a Springfield summer tradition, providing the best of Broadway to enthusiastic audiences for more than 50 years. Located lakeside at 815 East Lake Drive in an outdoor amphitheater, The Muni is one of the largest all-volunteer community theatre organizations in the nation. For more information on The Muni, please visit www.TheMuni.org.