Bill Buckhurst's British 'Sweeney Todd' Production Goes Off-Broadway This Winter

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is coming to New York City in 2017. Director Bill Buckhurst will helm the London version's off-Broadway transplant.

Early next year, New York's Barrow Street Theatre will be turned into a working pie shop for the production, mirroring the smash British staging's opening at Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop in London, where real pies were served to the audience members. Word on the street is that this detail will be duly replicated for the upcoming off-Broadway Sweeney Todd rendition.

Buckhurst's Sweeney Todd vision comes courtesy of the Tooting Arts Club, where Mr. Buckhurst serves as the theater company's associate director. The TAC was founded in 2011 by producer Rachel Edwards. Edwards is slated to oversee the off-Broadway Fleet Street fastening.

As reported by Broadway.com, the latest version of the enchanting horror musical, which originally premiered on Broadway in 1979, began its successful London run in 2014:

"The worst pies in the Big Apple will be found off-Broadway next year! Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is coming to NYC following sold-out runs in London, where the show debuted in Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop, the oldest continuously operating pie shop in Britain."

The latest British version of Sweeney Todd starred Siobhan McCarthy and Jeremy Secomb. The New York Times reports that the upcoming off-Broadway staging's cast is yet to be announced:

"No casting has been announced for the off-Broadway version, which will be directed by Bill Buckhurst, who oversaw the London production. Preview performances will begin Feb. 14, with the official opening on March 1. More information can be found at SweeneyToddNYC.com."

Directly below, watch a clip from Tim Burton's 2007 film adaptation of the Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street starring Johnny Depp.

We want to hear from you! Are you a fan of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street? Did you like the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie version? Let us know your take in the comments section below.

TagsSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Bill Buckhurst, Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Siobhan McCarthy, Jeremy Secomb, Tooting Arts Club, Rachel Edwards