Madison Meeks 

Editor-in-Chief

Mvm7037@psu.edu

Broadway, NY – The Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” had a new face jump into the role of Tobias starting on January 31.

Netflix’s “Heartstopper” star Joe Locke stepped into the role, making his Broadway debut. He made his stage debut in 2022 when he appeared in “The Trials,” a Donmar Warehouse production in the United Kingdom.

Locke takes over the role of Tobias from “Stranger Things” star Gaten Matarazzo, who ended his run on November 5, 2023, and Broadway performer Daniel Marconi, who replaced Tobias until Locke made his debut. Locke is performing alongside Tony winners Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster starting February 9.

The revival of the beloved production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in February 2023. According to Playbill.com, “Based on the Christopher Bond play of the same name, Sweeney Todd centers on its titular barber, who seeks revenge on a corrupt judge and turns to murder, with neighbor and accomplice Mrs. Lovett ultimately discovering they can dispose of the evidence by serving up the most unsettling meat pies to the people of London.”

In December 2023, Broadway World confirmed that Locke would be taking over the role of Tobias Raggs. He made his Broadway debut on Wednesday, January 31. He celebrated this achievement with fans by posting a picture of him as Tobias, the show’s program, and a clip of his first bow on Instagram. The post was captioned, “Little Joe would be happy.” From February 9, Locke will be performing alongside Tviet and Foster officially.

Locke will be seen in several productions this year. First in “Sweeney Todd” before he will be reprising his role as Charlie Spring in “Heartstopper” season 3, which has officially wrapped production on its newest season and will be premiering on Netflix later this year. He will soon be seen in Marvel’s “Agatha: Darkhold Diaries,” premiering on Disney Plus in fall 2024. As stated in his Instagram story, Locke will perform as Tobias for 13 weeks. He joins the cast, which includes Ruthie Ann Miles as the Beggar Woman, Maria Bilbao as Johanna, Nicholas Christopher as Pirelli, James Jackson as Judge Turpin, John Rapson as the Beadle, and Daniel Yearwood as Anthony Hope.