The Surprising Backlash Over the Casting of Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster in 'Sweeney Todd'
“I’m sure they’ll do excellent, but man, both of these feel horrendously miscast.”
On October 31, news first broke that Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster would be replacing Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in the critically (somewhat) acclaimed Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd (which I reviewed here). The announcement was intended to be met with the same enthusiasm as Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch replacing Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury in the 2009 revival of A Little Night Music. That sort of replacement casting not only generates buzz; it can convince those who already attended the show to return to witness fresh blood.
Tveit, a Tony Award-winner, and Foster, a 2-time Tony Award-winner and 7-time nominee, are beloved both on stage and screen and were surely gonna get the girlies talking. Unfortunately, what they’re saying isn’t just “peas and carrots.” In fact, the announcement was made with a seemingly unusual amount of disappointment; even disdain.
Let’s start with the comments over on Playbill’s Instagram. “No.” “Gimmick casting is literally ruining this industry.” “Sondheim didn’t die for this.” “Love Aaron Tveit but why is Sweeney Todd being so romanticized now?! We need an older, gruff baritone for this score!!” “I heard they’re adding a splashy tap number to Act 2 for Sutton!!” “Give me Josh Henry and Audra McDonald madam.” “Bubblegum pop tenor Sweeney Todd & wocka wocka ha-cha-cha Lovett…” “Huge fan of both, but still disappointed it didn’t go to older actors. And yet another baritone role given to a tenor? Cool cool cool.” “First time I’m leaving a hate comment on Playbill.” “We really just recycling ‘stars’ forever now? Rough generation for anyone trying to break through. They are both too young.” “Next up we're gonna see Lea Michele as Mama Morton. They're just casting any big name in any role at this point.”
It wasn’t much better over on BroadwayWorld. “It’s a NO for me, dawg.” “Thanks, I hate it.” “It’s giving ‘these were the only Tony winners we could find who were unemployed.’” “#JusticeForBaritones.” “I’m BEGGING for an industry that makes unknowns into stars, again. Shuffling out the same ole show ponies (no matter how much we love and adore them) is getting a bit tired.” “More miscast famous white people!👏” “One of the most iconic bass/baritone roles given to a tenor 😐.” “But Josh and Annaleigh’s understudies are perfect for those roles…” “I thought Glee was canceled.”
So what gives?