Jordan Fisher Reflects on Being the First Actor of Color to Play Anthony in Broadway's Sweeney Todd

Jordan Fisher may be known as a go-to actor for newer musicals: he’s done Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. But the 29-year-old is passionate in pointing out that his real love is classic musical theatre.

“At the Red Mountain Theatre Company back in Birmingham, I trained in classical musical theatre…it was Sondheim, it was Meredith Willson, it was Rodgers and Hammerstein,” the actor explains. That is why he considers the current Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, where he plays Anthony, “unlike anything that I've done before. This is my comfort zone and no one has gotten to see it ever!”

Fisher grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He started doing community theatre as a pre-teen. And it was in Birmingham where he saw his first Sweeney Todd. He was 12 years old and, “it shifted me and I was like, ‘Wait, this is a thriller. This is not Oklahoma! This is not Music Man. I loved scary movies already. So I was like, 'This is special. Who's this guy, Stephen Sondheim?'”

In Sweeney Todd, which currently stars Josh Groban as the demon barber and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett, the focus is usually on the leads—who get to murder people, sing with glee about murdering people, and eventually face the comeuppance for their sins. In short, they get to have most of the fun in the show...READ MORE