The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is back and The Fritz has got him -- but not for long. The infamous hero of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd will strut his grisly stuff at the Fritz Theatre only through April 23. The run began March 30. Fritz founding artistic director Duane Daniels will star as Todd, joined by Melinda Gibb as Mrs. Lovett.

Daniels has appeared in such previous Fritz productions as The Conduct of Life, The Baltimore Waltz and Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and was seen recently in Triple Espresso at the Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre. Gibbs has performed on Broadway in Singing in the Rain and locally in Suds, Six Women With Brain Death and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Others in the cast include Sean Robert Cox, Sandy Campbell, David Radford, Steve Gunderson, Derek Collard, Steve Gouveia and Roseanne Ciparick. Sweeney Todd will be directed by Bob R. Patterson. The musical director is Cris O'Bryon.

Fritz Theatre is located at 420 Third Ave. in the Gaslamp Quarter. For tickets and information call (619) 233-7505.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent