Sweeneymania:

The Demon Barber is taking center state in L.A.. It all starts with Johnny Depp.

By Laurie Winer

Attention, Johnny Depp watchers: He has not yet moved into the downtown loft he purchased last year in the Eastern Columbia building on Broadway at 9th, but his lawyer was spotted there the other day, and sources say Depp may have bought an adjoining loft for more privacy. Keep your eye on the 12th-floor apartment that’s right under his—it’s listed at only $1.8 million, and it has incredible views to the south and east, a stunning bronze entry gate, really high ceilings and black toilets. Your bedroom would be under Depp’s outdoor deck area. (In case you’re tempted, the Realtor is David Kean at Prudential in Beverly Hills.)

Depp, acclaimed this awards season as Tim Burton’s Sweeney, isn’t the only demon barber almost in town. Starting March 11, the Ahmanson Theatre presents director John Doyle’s 2005 production of the musical. For those of you born after 1979, “Sweeney Todd” was written for the stage, where it really is more powerful.

Of course, the Ahmanson is a huge theater in which to place a production designed for an intimate space (the actors play their own instruments). But that’s L.A.—the theaters are either too large or too small.

Blood lust for even more Sweeney?

Go to the source. Composer-lyricist-genius Stephen Sondheim will be interviewed by columnist and former New York Times drama critic Frank Rich at UCLA’s Royce Hall on March 13.

Oh, and if you care, the actor playing Johnny, er, Sweeney Todd in the Ahmanson production is David Hess. And the wonderful Judy Kaye is Mrs. Lovett.