Broadway Access Review -
Sweeney Todd

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Playbill of Sweeney Todd in front of the stage
 

General Note

This is a review of the accessibility of the theater, of the lighting/sound/scent design of the show, and a list of content warnings as a way to prep folks with various needs before they go see it. 

This is not meant to scare anyone away from seeing the show. Most productions have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written down. 

For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy the show because they know what to expect. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful! 

I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.

Theater

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

All comments on the accessibility of lighting are in reference to seats in the front center mezzanine

Bathrooms:

  • no explicitly gender neutral bathrooms

  • located below the orchestra and on the mezzanine level, with an accessible one in the orchestra level - they have the red/green occupied/vacant signs on them

Other theater accessibility:

  • the theater has a step-free entrance to the orchestra

  • there is no elevator

  • they offer closed captioning, assistive listening, and audio description access options

Click here for more information on the physical accessibility of this theater.

Light/Sound/Scent

General:

  • I did not feel the need to use earplugs for the show

  • Sweeney’s razor is VERY reflective and causes accidental strobe whenever it’s present

  • Act II is a lot more sensory input than Act I (with more screaming, louder sound design, etc). It kinda lulls you into comfort in Act I and then hits you with Act II

Act I: pre-show there is unscented fog/smoke pouring from the top right corner, the stage is quite dark which makes the theater kinda dark

  • Opening song - fog on the floor, quick white spotlight on Sweeney (will be referred to as ST) at the end 

  • No Place Like London - spotlight on ST after “vermin of the world inhabit it” shuts off quickly

  • My Friends - after “my arm is complete again” there are 2 quick on/off white side lights on beat, with one on each side of the stage (right, then left)

  • Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir - a woman screams at one point, also there are 4 or 5 quickly changing lights but they are fades so it didn’t bother me at all

  • during the bet, Beadle blows his whistle twice (once to start, once to stop)

  • two quick lighting shifts after ST says “closest shave”

  • loud drum crash after the first murder (murder count is on the last slide if you need blood warnings)

  • after Judge exits and Lovett goes upstairs there are some loud drums/brass

Act II: during intermission the stage is lit in blue

  • Opening number - there was definitely at least one quick on/off light during this number, I missed when it was (sorry!), there is also a quick white downlight at the end of it

  • Johanna - blood warning, also small amounts of unscented smoke

  • Beadle blows his whistle again

  • City on Fire! - this song takes place in an insane asylum, it is full of white strobed downlights, quick white on/off lights, loud crashes, screams, train whistles, and there is a gunshot with an accompanying flash

  • loud sound and light shift when ST sees the Beggar Woman in his shop (after her “Beadle Beadle Beadle” at the window)

  • things get quite violent after Judge says “BENJAMIN BARKER”

  • quick downlight on ST when he hits the stairs after Johanna

  • very loud after the ST furnace situation 

  • scream after Tobias pokes ST

  • quick light off after ST and Lovett jump at the end of the finale

Content Warnings

  • death/murder

  • madness and institutionalization

  • cannibalism

  • animal death

  • SA

  • adoptive incest/pedophilia

  • mentions of suicide

Body count & their narrative location (and how bloody/graphic) is below. I will not specify *who* dies as much as I can help it for spoiler reasons, if you want more info send me a message! (or Google the plot of Sweeney)

Murder/Body Count

Always a good sign when you need one of these warning lists

Act I:

  • one of ST’s first clients in the shop (if not the first) discovers his true identity and gets thrown into a box onstage and ?suffocated?  This death is not graphic

Act II:

  • during “Johanna”, there are 2, both are quite bloody

  • during “City on Fire”, it’s a gunshot, no blood

  • at the end of “Parlor Songs”, there is an offstage death, you see the slightly bloody body

  • after ST spots the beggar woman in his shop (semi-bloody but it’s quick)

  • after Judge Turpin says “BENJAMIN BARKER”, quite graphic, this one in particular stressed me out

  • after ST and Mrs. Lovett hug in the bakehouse, no blood

  • after Tobias grabs the knife, semi-bloody