AMERICAN THEATRE | Disney+ Announces Designs for ‘Sweeney Todd’ Animated Series
LOS ANGELES: Michael Paull, president of Disney Streaming, today introduced formidable programs for an animated collection based mostly on Sweeney Todd, the 1979 musical about a murderous barber by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. An first buy of 10 episodes, to be helmed by Owl Residence and Gravity Falls creator Dana Terrace, is aimed for a February 2023 launch on Disney+.
“The resurgence of musicals on film and streaming platforms made this an clear selection,” mentioned Paull in a assertion. “And with the continuing recognition of horror, the show’s creators designed the pitch that the combine of songs, social commentary, and arterial spray that characterizes Sweeney Todd can make it an best blend for today’s audiences.”
Aspects were being generally underneath wraps, but first reports suggest that each and every of the 10 episodes will comply with a unique character as a result of the squalor and hypocrisy of Victorian London, culminating with their ugly execution by razor in the barber chair of the title character, and their subsequent baking into a meat pie by Mrs. Lovett. The frozen-food stuff big Stouffer’s has signed on to promote confined-version one-serving treats, “Lovett’s Savories,” keyed to the series’ people and themes.
Nevertheless Sondheim’s first rating will not be made use of in the series, it will be the basis of new tracks by a rotating secure of songwriters, such as Expensive Evan Hansen’s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Waitress’s Sara Bareilles, and Come From Absent’s David Hein and Irene Sankoff.
“I have been encouraged by the operate of Stephen Sondheim throughout my career as a storyteller,” reported guide animator Dana Terrace in a statement. “I am so honored to be in a position to carry on his legacy as a result of this new animated sequence, which will not shy away from the darkest truths of human struggling and depravity, but rather condition them into bite-sized 23-minute ‘snacks’ you can stream on any product.”
Resources close to the company notify us that ahead of his dying last tumble, Sondheim was in talks with Disney+ about a assortment of assignments, including a aggressive truth clearly show dependent on Assassins and a Muppets adaptation of Enthusiasm.
