HARTFORD—At the historic 233 Pearl Street theater, TheaterWorks Hartford welcomed the Hartford Stage team to conjointly announce their co-production of the musical thriller Sweeney Todd—a winner of eight Tony Awards—to premiere in June 2026.  Standing side-by-side, Hartford Stage Artistic Director Melia Bensussen and TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero proudly shared that Ruggiero would direct the grand performance at Hartford Stage. “We’re thrilled to collaborate on this powerful theatrical chamber version of Sweeney Todd with our neighbors and friends at Hartford Stage,” commented Ruggiero at the press conference on March 19 . “Together, with Hartford Stage, we have over 100 years of making great theater in downtown Hartford. This historic partnership is a celebration of that and the future of both our organizations.” Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street—written by award-winning Author Hugh Wheeler and composed by world-renowned Artist Stephen Sondheim—first premiered on Broadway in 1979. The internationally acclaimed performance explores themes of justice, revenge, and the dark sides of human nature while guided by a complex and compelling dark musical score. “Sweeney is one of Sondheim’s most unique and captivating musicals—I couldn’t be more excited to bring this intimate production to the Hartford community as a collaboration for our 40th anniversary season,” shared Ruggiero. After 15 years of unjust exile, a determined barber returns to 19th-century London, seeking vengeance against the corrupt, lecherous judge who framed him and terrorized his wife, Lucy Barker.  “This is a big musical that neither of us could do by ourselves,” stated Bensussen. “Together we get to do one of the greatest masterpieces of American musical theater.” As a large-scale production, Sweeney Todd requires double the resources than an average play at TheaterWorks or Hartford Stage, shared Bensussen. This collaboration will also draw out a larger audience and introduce new audience members to both theaters, as there’s only a seven percent overlap between TheaterWorks’ and Hartford Stage’s currently subscribed members.  “Combining the resources of Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks Hartford is an opportunity to provide a major theatrical experience to the people of this region,” said Bensussen. “I’m excited to share our space with our colleagues at TheaterWorks Hartford and welcome all audiences to Hartford Stage!” Collaboration Leads to New Opportunities Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many theaters and similar art institutions operated independently to develop unique identities and remain competitive against each other. Once the pandemic sent audiences home, greatly impacting such venues across the nation, many theaters dropped their guards and pondered how they could support each other amid such difficult times.  “I think those seeds led to this moment,” said Ruggiero. He emphasized that although TheaterWorks Hartford and Hartford Stage are two different brands, there are aspects within both organizations’ identities and values that cross over organically.  “It’s going to be bumpy, I’m sure, in some places because we’re used to doing it independently, but we’re going to find our way together,” Bensussen said about TheaterWorks’ and Hartford Stage’s first-ever co-production.  The overall partnership is a result of the compatible personalities of both organizations’ leadership—having overlapping priorities and artistic goals—but also the “temperature of the nation right now,” according to Bensussen.  Art organizations across the country are feeling the initial impacts of divisive ideologies and policies that foreshadow major cultural changes to come. These shifts are actively inspiring art-centered institutions to come together in a show of strength. “To do theater requires real courage, to go out on the stage requires courage, to put together a production—the investment [and] the resources necessary to do it—requires courage,” stated Senator Richard Blumenthal. “So, this partnership is about people with bravery coming together and putting their necks and heads on the line and their resources together to make something great happen.” For more information about the collaborative performance visit www.twhartford.org or www.hartfordstage.org. The post Two Hartford Historic Theaters to Collaboratively Produce Sweeney Todd first appeared on CTLN. ...read more read less