When the “Sweeney Todd” tour, playing the Aronoff Feb. 19-March 2, closes at the end of June, CCM grad (and Dayton native) Ben Magnuson knows exactly what he’s going to be doing – getting married. He has a big date in August to marry fellow CCM grad (voice major) Carla Stickler, who’s taking time off from touring in “Mamma Mia!” to walk down the aisle.

 

Cello-playing Magnuson, now a member of the musicians’ union thanks to his “Sweeney” gig. After a year on Broadway and a year on the road, Magnuson is still “enjoying it immensely – it’s the best.”

Of course, there was the year off between Broadway and the tour, but periods of unemployment were a lot easier, knowing there was a job in the near future, Magnuson assesses.

The biggest surprise of doing “Sweeney Todd,” Magnuson says, “is how easy it was to memorize the music. None of us knew it was going to be memorized but it just goes into your fingers and into your head. That’s the mastery of the writing.”

Magnuson is looking forward to having a little time off. “As much as I enjoy acting, I’m very interested in creating, in writing and directing.” He’s the youngest cast member in the “Sweeney Todd” tour and, Magnuson observes, he’s too young for the roles that suit him best. (Think Emile de Becque in “South Pacific.” When Magnuson sang “Some Enchanted Evening” for a Patti LuPone master class back in his school days, she all but melted.) “I’m seriously considering going back to school.”

He’s also been playing in a rock band with fellow CCM grads, and is on tenterhooks as his creative gang (which includes classmate Adam Wagner) try to get rights for a project which they’re eager to adapt. Of course Magnuson is mum about the details.