I had the thrill of seeing Sweeney Todd performed live on Broadway this past weekend. The combination of Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in the main roles absolutely blew us away. Josh Groban’s voice and stage presence was extremely powerful in person. Annaleigh Ashford’s performance as Mrs. Lovett was comedic genius. So many iconic actresses have played that role over the years, but she managed to make it fresh and funny in a way that was totally her own.

Since moving from Guam to Pennsylvania, we’ve taken advantage of our proximity to New York and Philadelphia to see several plays. We saw Hadestown, the 25th Anniversary tour of Rent, and Beetlejuice. My Sweeney Todd ticket was a birthday gift from my brother, who has a history of buying me theater tickets for my birthday. Perhaps the most memorable experience was David Bowie’s Lazarus.

After the Sweeney Todd performance when the cast had taken their final bows, Josh Groban auctioned off a straight razor blade prop to raise money for Broadway Cares. He offered to sign the blade and allow the winner to go backstage. When the bidding had reached $3,000, he enthusiastically offered to lick the blade and murder the winner with it for $4,000. The final bid ultimately reached $5,000.