Connecticut School’s Production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ Sparks Protest

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone in the 2005 Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd.”

School officials in Woodbridge, Conn., are bracing for a protest on Monday evening over Amity Regional High School’s spring musical, the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler show “Sweeney Todd,” which some local residents are denouncing as too dark and violent for teenagers in the drama program. The protesters also invoked the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in nearby Newtown as a reason to oppose “Sweeney Todd,” a Tony Award-winning musical about a London barber driven to murderous rage and a shopkeeper who turns the corpses into pies.

“Amity High School students are assigned and taught to perform the horrific acts of gruesome murder, cannibalism, rape, suicide, etc.,” wrote one of the protesters, Laura Carroll, on a community blog on Friday. “Our children and communities are still going through the effects of the Sandy Hook massacre. What is Amity’s message to these children Amity High School is supporting violence in our community.”

The local schools superintendent, John Brady, said in a telephone interview on Monday that he and the high school principal were standing behind the “Sweeney Todd” production, which is scheduled to begin performances on April 5.

“As far as I know this protest is about three or four individuals! , who made their feelings known on the blog Monday morning, and unfortunately made the decision to link our production to Newtown,” Mr. Brady said. “We are doing the high school edition of ‘Sweeney Todd,’ which is one of the most produced shows at high schools in the country, and which has some of the lyrics and scenes toned down from the Broadway version. This is a suitable show for Amity High School.”

Ms. Carroll could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday; efforts to reach her through the blog administrator were also unsuccessful.

The protest is expected to unfold on Monday during the public comment portion of a regularly scheduled meeting of the district school board. The musical itself is not on the agenda and no vote is expected to be taken, Mr. Brady said.

A few supporters of the production will be at the board meeting to speak if necessary, including Howard Sherman, a theater consultant and former executive director of the nonprofit American Theater Wing, who i also an alumnus of Amity Regional High School. Mr. Sherman said he decided to rent a car and drive up to Connecticut once he heard about the planned protest, in order to support the drama program, “Sweeney Todd,” and the value of allowing students to tackle challenging work.

“This is an issue I see happening more and more, these cases where teachers and schools come under harsh pressure from a few people in the community who do not like the choice of a play or a musical for reasons that don’t have to do with education or the arts,” Mr. Sherman said by telephone as he drove to Connecticut.

Mr. Sondheim did not immediately reply on Monday to a phone message seeking comment.