{"id":5094541,"date":"2025-03-30T10:52:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T14:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/?p=5094541"},"modified":"2025-03-30T10:52:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T14:52:19","slug":"two-hartford-historic-theaters-to-collaboratively-produce-sweeney-todd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2025\/03\/30\/two-hartford-historic-theaters-to-collaboratively-produce-sweeney-todd\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Hartford Historic Theaters to Collaboratively Produce Sweeney Todd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HARTFORD\u2014At the historic 233 Pearl Street theater, TheaterWorks Hartford welcomed the Hartford Stage team to conjointly announce their co-production of the musical thriller Sweeney Todd\u2014a winner of eight Tony Awards\u2014to premiere in June 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing side-by-side, Hartford Stage Artistic Director Melia Bensussen and TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero proudly shared that Ruggiero would direct the grand performance at Hartford Stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re thrilled to collaborate on this powerful theatrical chamber version of Sweeney Todd with our neighbors and friends at Hartford Stage,” commented Ruggiero at the press conference on March 19 . \u201cTogether, with Hartford Stage, we have over 100 years of making great theater in downtown Hartford. This historic partnership is a celebration of that and the future of both our organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street<\/em>\u2014written by award-winning Author Hugh Wheeler and composed by world-renowned Artist Stephen Sondheim\u2014first premiered on Broadway in 1979. The internationally acclaimed performance explores themes of justice, revenge, and the dark sides of human nature while guided by a complex and compelling dark musical score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSweeney is one of Sondheim\u2019s most unique and captivating musicals\u2014I couldn\u2019t be more excited to bring this intimate production to the Hartford community as a collaboration for our 40th anniversary season,\u201d shared Ruggiero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 15 years of unjust exile, a determined barber returns to 19th-century London, seeking vengeance against the corrupt, lecherous judge who framed him and terrorized his wife, Lucy Barker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a big musical that neither of us could do by ourselves,\u201d stated Bensussen. \u201cTogether we get to do one of the greatest masterpieces of American musical theater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a large-scale production, Sweeney Todd<\/em> requires double the resources than an average play at TheaterWorks or Hartford Stage, shared Bensussen. This collaboration will also draw out a larger audience and introduce new audience members to both theaters, as there\u2019s only a seven percent overlap between TheaterWorks\u2019 and Hartford Stage\u2019s currently subscribed members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCombining the resources of Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks Hartford is an opportunity to provide a major theatrical experience to the people of this region,\u201d said Bensussen. \u201cI\u2019m excited to share our space with our colleagues at TheaterWorks Hartford and welcome all audiences to Hartford Stage!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration Leads to New Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many theaters and similar art institutions operated independently to develop unique identities and remain competitive against each other. Once the pandemic sent audiences home, greatly impacting such venues across the nation, many theaters dropped their guards and pondered how they could support each other amid such difficult times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think those seeds led to this moment,\u201d said Ruggiero. He emphasized that although TheaterWorks Hartford and Hartford Stage are two different brands, there are aspects within both organizations\u2019 identities and values that cross over organically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be bumpy, I\u2019m sure, in some places because we\u2019re used to doing it independently, but we\u2019re going to find our way together,\u201d Bensussen said about TheaterWorks’ and Hartford Stage\u2019s first-ever co-production.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall partnership is a result of the compatible personalities of both organizations\u2019 leadership\u2014having overlapping priorities and artistic goals\u2014but also the “temperature of the nation right now,\u201d according to Bensussen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art organizations across the country are feeling the initial impacts of divisive ideologies and policies that foreshadow major cultural changes to come<\/a>. These shifts are actively inspiring art-centered institutions to come together<\/a> in a show of strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo do theater requires real courage, to go out on the stage requires courage, to put together a production\u2014the investment [and] the resources necessary to do it\u2014requires courage,\u201d stated Senator Richard Blumenthal. \u201cSo, this partnership is about people with bravery coming together and putting their necks and heads on the line and their resources together to make something great happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

For more information about the collaborative performance visit www.twhartford.org<\/a> or www.hartfordstage.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TheaterWorks Hartford and Hartford Stage\u2014like other art organizations across the country\u2014are actively coming together in a more collaborative manner than before, amid the current “temperature of the nation.” 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