Video: Aaron Tveit & Sutton Foster Are the New Merry Murderers of SWEENEY TODD

I think every day I still go

I can't believe I'm doing Sweeney Todd on Broadway. It's pretty remarkable

Yeah, there's been a lot of moments of that, kind of being on stage and looking at Sutton

and looking out and saying, yeah, no, we're doing Sweeney Todd on Broadway right now. It's pretty amazing

But yeah, we're having way too much fun, I think. Yeah. Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

Sweeney Todd continues to play to packed houses and they will conclude their run on May 5th

And I'm here at the Lund-Fontanne to catch up with the show's two new stars

Sutton Foster and Aaron Tveit. Were these roles always on your bucket list

Like one day, hopefully, maybe I'll get to do Sweeney Todd? I think it was, it felt so far away

like almost out of my reach. Like I never even, I was, it's my favorite show of all time

but I never thought, oh, I would do it. Like, so no, no

Yeah, I kind of feel the same way too. I mean, I hoped and dreamed and it's a show that I've always just thought was incredible

and, but I never knew that it was gonna happen. Yeah. What do you each remember about your first performance

here on stage in Sweeney Todd? Is it a blur? Are there memories that come up

It was a bit of a blur. I like disassociated quite a bit, but I do remember having that dual reality of

cause we had of standing on the stage and going, I'm doing Sweeney Todd

And cause we had, there'd been so much time and rehearsal and so much leading up to that day

And, and of course you're just ripping the bandaid and you're like, I don't know if we're like

but it was, it was thrilling. Although I don't know if I remember much of it

Yeah, I don't think I remember any of it, except the only thing I remember is just trying to keep

like my adrenaline out of my throat, right? It's like so many times on opening nights

there's so much energy and so much adrenaline. And the crowds here have been so kind of voracious

that that night it was even more so. So it was really fighting against, you know

cause when the crowd is so wonderful, especially if it's your first night, you have the tendency, you want to go with them

And so with this show, you can't do that. So you have to really, it was a big fight

to fight against that energy a little bit. Yeah. What do you remember about the first time

you saw yourself done up as Mrs. Lovett in the mirror and Sweeney

I was really, I was like, I look crazy. And my, my wig is so like squirrely and like

and I thought, oh wow, this just does so much for me

And I like the whole getup, like everything. And I was like, oh, this is awesome

Yeah, it really kind of, it's like, does so much for the character, but I was excited

Yeah, I always feel that, you know, good costuming and good hair and makeup, as you said, do so much, right

And so it creates a picture and that picture is telling so much story for you

So I just, I couldn't believe what I was looking at, you know, there's all this gray in my hair and in my beard

And it just felt like, it felt like armor in a way. Yeah. It feels like you're prepped to go out

Yeah, and you physically look like a different person, unlike anything I've ever looked like on stage

It was exciting. This is one of the most beautiful scores ever written

Like you said, it's your favorite musical. Like, is it a hard show to learn? Yes

I think it's the hardest score I've ever had to learn. I was incredibly, because it's one of those shows

you're like, oh, I know Sweeney Todd. No, you don't know Sweeney Todd. And like, as soon as we started working on it

I was like, oh, I don't even know how to go about

learning it, working on it. I still make mistakes. Like, it's just, it's this

and then you add the layer of the orchestra and then the ensemble. It's unlike anything I've ever had to tackle

We were really lucky that we had kind of a whole, we had sessions over the course of a month

before we started rehearsal that Alex Lacamoire took us through beat by beat of the score

because yeah, it's the hardest score I've ever learned. I mean, I've never, I don't know if this is a good thing

or not, but I've never spent the hours that I spent on this kind of listening to the piano track of my part

following along on the score. I mean, it really took a lot of work to learn this, but I felt like it was like the artistic process

in a nutshell. It's like, this is amazing. I can't do this. I'm terrible

I'll never do this. Oh, maybe I get it. Oh, okay, I understand it. Oh, I got it, right

It's like, which is what you go through in every job, but this was like amplified learning the show

was tremendously difficult. But then once you do, and it seems so complicated

but I think that's the brilliance of it, is that all of a sudden you start hearing the way

that the songs work with the orchestra in a way that you couldn't imagine understanding when you start out

And I think that's the brilliance of the show and the score. And then you had Tommy Kail

which is rare when people go into it, replace someone in a show, but no, it's your own Sweeney Todd, the two of you

which is really amazing. What was it like having time with Tommy Kail? It was wonderful

It's my first time working with him as a director and same with Alex Lacamoire. I mean, we were so lucky and that everyone was so open

to us sort of coming in and finding our own way. And it was amazing

It was really that whole month of December was really when we were rehearsing and going into the show

And it really felt like a wonderful process. Yeah, I mean, I was fortunate enough

to work with Tommy on Grease Live and I had such a great time with him

And, you know, first they asked us, you know, they said, would Sutton and I wanna come in

for 12 weeks and do this? And I was like, of course. And then they, I just kind of expected

that we were gonna get put in as you usually do. And they said that Tommy and Lac would be, you know

with us the whole time. And it was, it's something that you don't really get to experience a lot

And they, you know, Sutton said, they really let us come in and find our own way

and make the show our own. And also this entire company too. I mean, the show had been running

and hugely successful for nine months. And if they had sat back and said, no, we're gonna do our show

like I would have totally understood that. But everyone in this building was so game

for anything that we were doing different and to shape and find a new way

to tell the story all together. And it was really special. And I'm very, very grateful for all of them too

I'm sure it made it easier going in together. Yes. Right? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah

Yeah, it was kind of an interesting way to do it because if we were rehearsing this as normal

we'd be forging this relationship as well, but you'd be doing it with every character

that you interact with. But in a weird way, you know, this kind of love story that's at the center of the show

between Sutton, between Sweeney and Lovett is, you know, we got to kind of find that on our own

We only had each other. You know, we had wonderful people that came in and rehearsed with us, but we had so much time, just the two of us

And I think it made that part of the show so rock solid

And I know I can always look at Sutton on stage and find each other. And it's really, it was a unique way to do it

but I think it had a lot of benefits to the way we're telling the story. Yeah

When did you find it together? Were there little things that unlocked it

along the way for you? Were there big things that unlocked these for you

Like during the process? It was like, it was a process. I mean, and it was, and it's also

it's intimidating coming into a show. For me, it was the first time I've replaced

in a really long time, massive shoes to fill, coming into a company that's been united

and together for over 300 performances and performing for a year. And I was like, I don't wanna mess this up, you know

And I felt really intimidated. And, but again, it was like, it was a very slow process

We, and then we learned it. And then we went, we took a break

because I went to go do Once Upon a Mattress at City Center. And we took a month off in the middle of the process

which in a weird way was amazing. Because we like, if we had gone in

that first week of January, it would have been a totally different experience. But in a weird way, we took a break

I went and did something else. And then we came back and it had kind of marinated

And like, there was something that, not that I recommend it. No, but it ended up working out really well

I feel like I really tried to let it go for that time that we were away

And then when I came back to it, yeah, it just settled. So maybe that's what you're asking

And it kind of unlocked then for me. Yeah, when we came back to it

Yeah, because I couldn't see it before. I was like, I was like drowning

Yeah, we were still learning it. But then the time away it was like, oh no, okay, this is still there

And we know it now. And now we can kind of really play. Yeah. It's like you could relax into it

You stepped away from it and say, I know the show. I know it now. But you put all those other fears

and those voices somewhere else. And you could see it again. Like I, sometimes when you're learning something

it's you can't even, you have no perspective. You're just surrounded by all the things

And so it was, it was this weird gift that turned out. Okay, but then you talk about leaving for a month

You went to do Once Upon a Mattress, which is one of the greatest stage roles ever

You know, Carol Burnett. I mean, what were you thinking? I mean, you were brilliant in the show

the whole entire production. But it's like, I'm learning Sweeney Todd. Oh, and now I'm gonna go do Once Upon a Mattress

Well, Once Upon a Mattress had been on the books for a long time. So it was really Sweeney Todd that like kind of came in

And I was like, huh, I don't know how I'm gonna do that. But I'll see if I figure it out

But they amazingly, all of the people involved. And luckily I was, you were so game to be like

sure, I'll rehearse this way. I mean, it was wild. It was wild

And it was fun. Mattress was crazy and beyond. And such a lark

And so, I was so unhinged and unleashed. And there was such a sense of freedom

because I was like, all right, I'm gonna go and like throw myself into this

And I don't, you don't, and there's the beauty of encores is that there just isn't enough time

to doubt or think or worry. You just gotta like go for it

And it just ended up being like a really wonderful time. Yeah

Oh boy, it was brilliant to watch you make magic in that show too. What's it like living in the world of Stephen Sondheim

singing these beautiful songs, saying these words by Hugh Wheeler? I mean, like you said, a great score, a complex score

but so beautiful. It's a dream. And it's, I think it's a masterpiece

A lot of our job is to just let go and trust

because the material just doesn't get much better than this. Yeah, it's fascinating

This is the third Sondheim show I've gotten to do. And I just think I've learned so much

every time I've gotten to work on one of these shows. And it's really feels like Shakespeare

that you just, there's so much there in the source material that you kind of, in a way, just show up and say the words. But

Get out of its way. But yeah, there's just no, this thing is so lean and mean

there's no fat on it. You just show up and put yourself in that position

and just go for it. And it can take a big swing too

in a way that Shakespeare, I think, can, right? You just kind of put your stamp on it

And I was like, oh, maybe I'll try this and see if it works and things happen

But no, it's remarkable. I'm learning, I still am learning something brand new

every night about the script, about the score, about the way it functions

It's fascinating, what a gift it is. It keeps revealing itself every show

My final question for you is, you're about, when you finish this, you're about to make your Cafe Carlyle debut

which you did too. So have you told him anything or what are you excited to the most

about doing the Cafe Carlyle? I just love that room. I think it's such a New York staple

and feels like such a New York evening. So I'm excited to get my shot at it, but

I can't wait to come see you. Oh, thanks. You tell them what it was like playing the room

It's like playing a living room, isn't it? Oh, it really is. I mean, it's only 90 seats

But it's, yeah, it's my favorite room in New York to play. I absolutely love it

It's awesome. You're gonna be fantastic. Thanks. A little Sondheim in the show? Definitely