Josh Groban & Annaleigh Ashford: Sweeney Todd NPR Concert

Broadway stars Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford lead NPR’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Tiny Desk Concert. Watch!

Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd is not your typical feel-good Broadway musical, which is probably why I love it… now. I didn’t always like the show; I first saw it when I was a kid, and let me tell you, I had nightmares for weeks afterward. The Tim Burton movie (starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter) drew me back in, and I’ve seen several stage productions since. Now, it’s back on Broadway, and cast members Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford teamed with NPR for a Tiny Desk Concert!

Sweeney Todd starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford — **amBroadway | Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford join ‘Sweeney Todd’ revival, Free Curtain Up Festival returns and more | amNewYork (amny.com)**

In addition to Groban and Ashford, other outstanding Sweeney Todd musicians and cast members perform during Tiny Desk Concert, including Daniel Yearwood, Maria Bilbao, and Joanna Carpenter. You can watch the entire concert below:

Expect a wave of emotions throughout this performance: empathy for Sweeney (Groban) and Mrs. Lovett (Annaleigh Ashford) with their songs of vengeance and longing, “My Friends,” and “By the Sea”; desire with the quartet’s vocal counterpoint performed in “Johanna (Act 2 Sequence)”; laughter with the duet’s performance of “A Little Priest.” Incredibly, this Tiny Desk version of the musical is no less impactful — the 26-piece orchestra currently playing the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre gets a nine-piece orchestration courtesy of Jonathan Tunick, Sondheim’s longtime collaborator, led by conductor Alex Lacamoire. Absolutely mesmerizing.