Josh Groban Kills!

Rob Taub   |  

Apr 22, 2023

I saw my first Broadway show in 1962.  I was six years old and for some inexplicable reason, my parents took me to see A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

I didn’t understand most of the play, but it was a spectacle unlike anything I’d ever seen.  (it’s still my favorite show and I play the original cast album regularly.) I was hooked and I’ve been attending Broadway shows ever since. 

In 1979, I saw the original production of Sweeney Todd, and at that time it was the most unique piece of theater I’d ever seen.  Although not a light opera, 80 percent of the show is sung, so it requires musicians and actors with significant talent,  and the current revival starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford does not disappoint. 

Prior to the show, I knew nothing about Groban, and it’s an understatement to say I was wowed by his performance.  Len Cariou won a well-deserved Tony as the original Sweeney, but I think Groban is even better.  He conveys such sadness and generates so much empathy that I found myself easily forgiving him for all the murders he commits. Annaleigh Ashford is a major talent, and the audience conveyed this with spontaneous applause numerous times. 

This show is what Broadway and living New York is all about.  We are so blessed to have live theater like this at our doorsteps.   You will thank me. 

At the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, Manhattan; sweeneytoddbroadway.com.
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes.