Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (musical)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sweeney Todd | |
| The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | |
 |
|
| Artwork from the original Broadway production | |
|---|---|
| Music | Stephen Sondheim |
| Lyrics | Stephen Sondheim |
| Book | Hugh Wheeler |
| Basis | Legend of Sweeney Todd (Christopher Bond's version) |
| Productions | 1979 Broadway 1980 West End 1980 U.S. Tour 1982 U.S. Tour 1989 Broadway revival 1993 London South Bank 1995 Barcelona 2000 New York City concert 2001 San Francisco concert 2001 Chicago concert 2002 Lyric Opera of Chicago 2003 Royal Opera House, London 2004 West End revival 2005 Broadway revival 2007 U.S. Tour 2007 London concert 2008 Madrid 2008 London revival 2009 Munich 2009 Barcelona |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Book Tony Award for Best Original Score Drama Desk Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Outstanding Book Drama Desk Outstanding Lyrics Drama Desk Outstanding Music Olivier Award for Best New Musical |
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 Tony Award–winning musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond.
Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979 and ran for 557 performances.[1] It was directed by Harold Prince with musical staging by Larry Fuller. It starred Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. The musical tells the story of Benjamin Barker, alias Sweeney Todd, who returns to London after 15 years transportation on false charges. When he learns from his former landlady Mrs. Lovett that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the Judge who wrongly transported him (Judge Turpin by name), he vows revenge.
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act I
The company—citizens of London—assembles to perform a no-frills burial, dumping a body in a sack into a shallow grave. The company sings "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," introducing the tale of the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street." They continue to appear throughout the show to comment on the action. Sweeney Todd rises from the grave as if called forth.
In 1846 [2], a young sailor named Anthony Hope rides a ship into London. Despite Hope's enthusiasm, his friend and shipmate Sweeney Todd is grim and uneasy. This mood is worsened by a half-mad Beggar Woman who begs from (then sexually solicits) both Anthony and Todd. She appears to recognize Todd, who runs her off. ("No Place Like London"). As they prepare to part, Todd tells Anthony a tragic story about a young and naïve barber, his beautiful wife, and the lustful judge who exiled him to covet her ("The Barber and His Wife").
Todd goes to a meat pie shop on Fleet Street, where he encounters the shop's proprietress, Mrs. Nellie Lovett. She complains about her competition, her own pitiful pies, and the difficult economic times ("Worst Pies in London"). When Todd asks about the upstairs apartment, she tells him the sad tale of the previous tenant, a barber named Benjamin Barker. Barker had been falsely sentenced by the lecherous Judge Turpin and his corrupt cohort Beadle Bamford because of the Judge's lust for Barker's wife Lucy. She reveals how, once Barker had been sent to Australia, the Judge had lured Lucy to his house and raped her ("Poor Thing"). Todd cries out in agony, confirming Mrs. Lovett's suspicions that he is Benjamin Barker, back from Australia. She tells him that his wife poisoned herself and that his infant daughter, Johanna, became a ward of the Judge. Todd swears revenge on the Judge who ruined his life. Mrs. Lovett is more concerned with how Todd will make a living, and shows Todd his collection of sterling silver razors, which she has kept hidden for years, telling him that he can become a barber again ("My Friends" and "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Lift Your Razor High, Sweeney!").
Anthony, walking through Kearny's Lane, notices a girl singing at a window admiring a bird seller's wares ("Green Finch and Linnet Bird"). The passing Beggar Woman (who again offers herself to him) tells Anthony that the girl is Johanna, Judge Turpin's ward. Anthony is immediately smitten ("Ah, Miss") and pledges to woo her, but the Judge and the Beadle threaten him off. He swears to rescue her ("Johanna"). Meanwhile, in the crowded marketplace, renowned "Italian" barber Adolfo Pirelli and his simple-minded assistant Tobias Ragg pitch a cure-all for hair loss ("Pirelli's Miracle Elixir"). Todd, after exposing the elixir as fraudulent, challenges Pirelli to a shaving and tooth-pulling competition, and invites the Beadle to act as the judge of the competition. Pirelli puts on a grand show, but Todd wins easily ("The Contest"). Todd invites the Beadle to visit his parlor for a complimentary shave ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney Pondered and Sweeney Planned").
Several days later, as Todd impatiently waits for the Beadle's arrival, Mrs. Lovett urges patience ("Wait"), when Anthony bursts into the shop. He tells Todd of his sudden romance with Johanna and requests to bring the girl to the barber shop. No sooner has he left than Pirelli and Tobias visit the shop. Mrs. Lovett takes Toby downstairs for a meat pie, leaving Todd alone with Pirelli. Pirelli drops his Italian accent to reveal an Irish one and reveals his real name is Danny O'Higgins, who served as assistant to Benjamin Barker in his barber shop fifteen years ago. O'Higgins has recognized Todd and attempts to blackmail him. Rather than pay O'Higgins off, Todd attacks him and strangles him, dumping his body into an empty trunk just before Tobias enters looking for his master, saying that he has an appointment with a tailor. Todd sends Tobias back down to Mrs. Lovett, tempting him with the offer of another pie and "a nice big tot of gin." Once the door has shut behind Tobias, Todd opens the trunk and finally finishes off his former assistant by slitting his throat. ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: His Hands Were Quick, His Fingers Strong…").
Across town, Judge Turpin is tormented by his lust for his ward Johanna and announces to her that he intends to marry her ("Johanna"). Disgusted by the prospect, Johanna and Anthony plan to elope ("Kiss Me"). At the same time, the Beadle, accompanying his master, suggests that the Judge visit Todd's barbershop to improve his appearance to better win Johanna's affections ("Ladies in Their Sensitivities"). Turpin agrees and they set off.
Back at Todd's shop, the ever-practical Mrs. Lovett extracts O'Higgins' gaudy coin purse from his corpse when the Judge arrives. Mrs. Lovett returns downstairs to distract Tobias where an eager Todd bides his time and slowly proceeds to exact his revenge, lulling the Judge into a sense of security ("Pretty Women"). Before he can kill Turpin, however, Anthony barges in to tell Todd about his and Johanna plans, also accidentally informing the outraged Judge. He curses Todd for conspiring against him before storming out of his parlor, vowing never to return. Todd, in his fury, descends into utter madness and broadens the target of his vengeance to all of society ("Epiphany"). Mrs. Lovett concludes that O'Higgins' body will not be Todd's last victim, and during a discussion with Todd about how to dispose of O'Higgins' body, has a sudden burst of inspiration and suggests they use the flesh of Todd's victims in her meat pies ("A Little Priest").
[edit] Act II
Mrs. Lovett's pie shop has become a thriving business with its new menu ("God, That's Good!"). The only fly in the ointment is the Beggar Woman, who keeps hanging around the pie shop, telling anyone who'll listen that Mrs. Lovett is a witch. Todd and Mrs. Lovett now have a specially-designed mechanized barber's chair that allows Todd to kill someone (preferably a customer who'll never be missed) in the barber shop and send the body through a chute directly into the basement bakehouse of the pie shop for Mrs. Lovett to use in her baking. Anthony's fortunes are not so bright as Johanna has disappeared. Over the weeks he searches for her while Todd accustoms himself to the idea that he may never see Johanna again, spending his time methodically slashing throats. ("Johanna (Quartet)"). Later, Mrs. Lovett dreams of a future life with Todd, though he remains uninterested ("By The Sea").
Anthony discovers the Judge has committed Johanna to Fogg's Asylum for the mentally deranged and, with Todd's help, infiltrates the asylum, posing as a wigmaker intent on purchasing inmates' hair ("Wigmaker Sequence" and "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney Waited Too Long Before…"). Unknown to Anthony, Todd sends a letter to the judge notifying him of Anthony's intent to kidnap Johanna, hoping to lure the judge to his shop ("Letter" Quintet).
Meanwhile, in the pie shop, Toby begins to suspect that Todd is up to no good and, unaware she is in on Todd's activities, expresses his desire to protect Mrs. Lovett, whom he has come to view as a mother figure ("Not While I'm Around"). When he recognizes Mrs. Lovett's purse as the one that had belonged to Pirelli, she locks him in the bakehouse under the pretext of teaching him how to grind meat. As she leaves, she encounters Beadle Bamford sitting at her harmonium ("Parlor Songs"), commissioned by the neighbors to investigate the thick black smoke and strange smells from the pie shop's chimney. Together, he and Mrs. Lovett wait for Todd, who arrives and offers the Beadle the promised free shave while Mrs. Lovett plays Sweet Polly Plunkett on her harmonium to cover the screams of the Beadle's demise. In the basement, Toby discovers a hair from a human and a thumb in a pie when the bloody corpse of the Beadle tumbles down the chute. Horrified, he tries to escape but realizes that he is locked in. Upstairs, Mrs. Lovett informs Todd that Toby has guessed everything; they head downstairs to dispose of him.
While Todd and Mrs. Lovett search the cellars for Toby, who at this point has vanished into the catacombs, Anthony infiltrates the asylum. He draws a pistol on Jonas Fogg, the owner of the asylum, but can't bring himself to shoot and drops the gun. Johanna grabs the gun and shoots Fogg dead. They both flee to Todd's parlor (Johanna is disguised in sailor's clothing) and the insane inmates pour out onto the streets ("City on Fire").
After Anthony leaves Johanna in Todd's barber shop to hire a coach to leave London, the Beggar Woman appears, and Johanna hides in the trunk that once held Pirelli's body. Todd discovers the Beggar Woman in his parlor as she desperately tries to warn him about Mrs. Lovett. As Judge Turpin arrives, Todd frantically slits the Beggar Woman's throat and sends her down the chute before Turpin can see her. When Todd assures him that Johanna is totally repentant, the judge in lecherous expectation asks for a shave. Once he has his victim in his chair, Todd reveals his identity to the Judge and slits his throat. As Todd leaves the parlor to find Toby, Johanna emerges from her hiding place. Todd catches her, and, thinking this intruder is a man, prepares to kill her. Todd hears Mrs. Lovett screaming from the bakehouse below, providing a distraction for Johanna to escape. Todd races downstairs.
In the bakehouse, Mrs. Lovett struggles with the dying Judge before she realizes that Todd has killed the Beggar Woman. Todd bursts into the bakehouse and, seeing the face of the Beggar Woman clearly in the light from the open oven doors, drops his razor in horror upon the realization that the Beggar Woman is his wife Lucy, whom he thought to be dead. Todd furiously accuses Mrs. Lovett of deceiving him. Mrs. Lovett confesses the truth but insists that she never lied, maintaining that Lucy had indeed taken poison but did not die from it. Mrs. Lovett tells Todd she withheld the truth from him in order to spare him, because she loves him. Todd suddenly rises, calms the nervous Mrs. Lovett, and tells her that he forgives her. He waltzes her over to the huge oven and hurls her inside, slamming the doors shut. Todd sinks to the floor and cradles his beloved wife in his arms. Toby, now driven completely insane and with his hair now white from the horror of the proceedings, enters and stumbles towards the barber. The grief-stricken Todd shoves him away, but Toby picks up Todd's fallen razor and fatally slashes Todd's throat. As Anthony, Johanna, and some constables burst into the bakehouse, Toby drops the razor and, unmindful of the others, begins to turn the handle for the meat grinder in a mindless parody of his duties for Mrs. Lovett ("Final Sequence").
The company assembles one last time to sing "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd." As the resurrected ghosts of Todd and Mrs. Lovett rise from their graves, they conclude that the capability for revenge is within all of us. The company exits, Todd and Mrs. Lovett being the last. Todd pauses at the large iron door at the back of the stage. He slams it in the audience's face. The play ends.
[edit] Principal roles
| Character | Voice Type[3] | Description |
| Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker | Bass-Baritone (F#2-F#4) | Protagonist. Morose and brooding, a barber by profession. Returned to London after fifteen years of unjust incarceration in an Australian penal colony. |
| Mrs. Nellie Lovett | Contralto[4] | A cheery and chatty but wholly amoral shopkeeper whose premises and pies are coated in dust and plagued by flies. She persuades Sweeney to kill even those he doesn't know so she may have a thriving business. Would like to be more than merely a landlady to Mr. Todd. |
| Anthony Hope | Baritone or Tenor (Ab2-F#4) | A young, naïve sailor befriended by Todd on the voyage home. |
| Johanna Barker | Soprano | A beautiful young girl, Todd's daughter but now claimed by Judge Turpin as his own ward. |
| Tobias Ragg | Tenor (Eb - A4) | A simple young lad who works first for Pirelli, then for Mrs. Lovett. Never trusts Todd. |
| Judge Turpin | Bass (E2-F4) | Antagonist. A corrupt and depraved official. An upholder of justice who twists the system to serve his own ends. |
| Beadle Bamford | Tenor (up to D5) | Turpin's right-hand man and accomplice to his crimes. |
| Beggar Woman/Lucy Barker | Soprano | A mad crone with a filthy tongue whose cries go unheeded. More importantly, she is Lucy, the wife of Sweeney Todd. |
| Adolfo Pirelli/Danny O'Higgins | Tenor (Up to C5) | A faux-Italian (Truly of Irish descent) and flashy barber who attempts to blackmail Todd. As a youngster, worked for Todd for a brief period. In some productions, can be played by a female (but still portrayed as a male character). |
[edit] Musical numbers
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- + Despite being cut in previews for reasons of length, these numbers were included on the Original Cast Recording.
- § This song is after "The Contest" in the 2005 Broadway Revival.
- §§ This number was written for the London production and first recorded for the 2000 New York Philharmonic concert performance.
[edit] Productions
[edit] Original Broadway production
After nineteen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Larry Fuller, opened on March 1, 1979, at the Uris Theatre. The show ran for 557 performances, closing on June 29, 1980. The cast included Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett (replaced by Dorothy Loudon in March 1980)[5], Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd (replaced by George Hearn in March 1980)[6], Victor Garber as Anthony Hope, Sarah Rice as Johanna, Merle Louise as the Beggar Woman, Ken Jennings as Tobi Ragg, Edmund Lyndeck as the Judge Turpin, Joaquin Romaguera as Adolfo Pirelli, and Jack Eric Williams as Beadle Bamford. The production was nominated for nine Tonys, winning eight, including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (for Lansbury) and Best Actor in a Musical (for Cariou)
[edit] Original West End production
The musical opened in London's West End on July 2, 1980, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, starring Denis Quilley as Sweeney Todd, Sheila Hancock as Mrs. Lovett, Andrew C. Wadsworth as Anthony Hope, Mandy More as Johanna, Michael Staniforth as Tobi, Austin Kent as Judge Turpin, Dilys Watling as the Beggar Woman, David Wheldon-Williams as Beadle Bamford, and John Aaron as Adolfo Pirelli. The show ran for 157 performances. This production won the Laurence Olivier Award for new musical (1980).
[edit] North American tours
The first U.S. national tour started on October 24, 1980, in Washington, D.C. and ended in August 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Lansbury was joined by George Hearn, who had replaced Len Cariou in the Broadway production. This version of the production was eventually broadcast on PBS in 1982 and received wide critical and popular attention.
A North American tour started on February 23, 1982, in Wilmington, Delaware, and ended on July 17, 1982, in Toronto, Ontario. June Havoc and Ross Petty starred.
[edit] 1989 Broadway revival
The first Broadway revival opened on September 14, 1989, at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 188 performances after 47 previews. It was produced by Theodore Mann and directed by Susan H. Schulman; the cast included Bob Gunton, Beth Fowler, Eddie Korbich and David Barron. The production was nominated for four Tony Awards; Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical(for Gunton), Best Actress (for Fowler), and Best Direction (for Schulman).
[edit] 1993 London revival
In 1993, Sweeney Todd was revived at the Royal National Theatre in London. It starred Alun Armstrong as Sweeney Todd and Julia McKenzie as Mrs Lovett; they both won an Olivier Award for their performances.[7] It also featured Adrian Lester.[8] This production was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Musical revival.
[edit] 1994 Los Angeles production
In 1994, East West Players in Los Angeles staged a revival directed by Tim Dang, featuring a largely Asian Pacific American cast. It was also the first time the show had been presented in an intimate house (Equity 99-seat). The production received 5 Ovation Awards including the Franklin Levy Award for Best Musical (Smaller Theatre) and Best Director (Musical) for Dang.
[edit] Opera house performances
In 1984 the show was presented by the New York City Opera. Hal Prince recreated the staging using the simplified set of the 2nd national tour. It was well-received and most performances sold out. It was brought back for limited runs in 1986 and 2004. In the early 2000s, Sweeney Todd gained acceptance with opera companies throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Israel, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia. Bryn Terfel, the popular Welsh bass-baritone, performed the title role at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2002, with Judith Christian, David Cangelosi, Timothy Nolan, Bonaventura Bottone, Celena Shaffer and Nathan Gunn. It was performed at the Royal Opera House in London as part of the Royal Opera season (December 2003-January 2004) starring Sir Thomas Allen as Todd, Felicity Palmer as Mrs. Lovett and a supporting cast that included Rosalind Plowright, Robert Tear and Jonathan Veira as Judge Turpin. The Israeli National Opera has performed Sweeney Todd twice. The Icelandic Opera performed Sweeney Todd in the fall of 2004, the first time in Iceland.
[edit] Concert productions
.
The show has also had major concert productions, the most significant of which was a series of semi-staged concerts directed by Lonny Price. The first concerts were May 4 - 6, 2000 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, with the New York Philharmonic. It starred George Hearn (a last-minute substitute for Bryn Terfel) as Todd, Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, Neil Patrick Harris as Tobi, Davis Gaines as Anthony, John Aler as the Beadle, Paul Plishka as the Judge, Heidi Grant Murphy as Johanna, Stanford Olsen as Pirelli and Audra McDonald as the Beggar Woman. The next concert was put on at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco July 19-21, 2001 with the San Francisco Symphony, again with Hearn, LuPone,Harris, Aler, and Olsen, and new performers Victoria Clark as the Beggar Woman, Lisa Vroman as Johanna and Timothy Nolen as Judge Turpin. This production was taped for PBS broadcast. The same production played at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago on August 24, 2001, with most of the cast from the preceding concerts, except for Plishka and Clark, who were replaced by Sherrill Milnes and Hollis Resnik, respectively.
A "Reprise!" Concert version was performed at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre in March 12-14, 1999, with Kelsey Grammer as Todd, Christine Baranski as Mrs. Lovett, Davis Gaines and Neil Patrick Harris as Anthony and Tobias, Melissa Manchester as The Beggar Woman, Dale Kristien as Johanna and Ken Howard as Judge Turpin.
London's Royal Festival Hall hosted two performances on February 13, 2000, starring Len Cariou as Todd, Judy Kaye as Mrs. Lovett, and Davis Gaines as Anthony.
A four-day concert production presented in July 2007 to celebrate the reopening of the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall, starring Bryn Terfel, Maria Friedman, Daniel Boys, Steve Elias, Daniel Evans and Philip Quast.[9]
[edit] Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration
As part of the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration, a production of Sweeney Todd ran from May 10, 2002 through June 30, 2002 at the Eisenhower Theatre, starring Brian Stokes Mitchell as Todd, Christine Baranski as Mrs. Lovett, Hugh Panaro as Anthony, Walter Charles (a member of the original cast), as Judge Turpin and Celia Keenan-Bolger as Johanna. It was directed by Christopher Ashley with choreography by Daniel Pelzig.[10]
[edit] 2004-2005 West End and Broadway revivals
In 2004, John Doyle directed a revival of the musical at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, England, running from July 27, 2004 until October 9, 2004, subsequently transferred to the West End's Trafalgar Studios and then the Ambassadors Theatre. This production was notable for having no orchestra, with the 10-person cast playing the score themselves on musical instruments that they carried onstage.[11] This marked the first time in nearly ten years that a Sondheim show had been presented in the commercial West End. It starred Paul Hegarty as Todd, Karen Mann as Mrs. Lovett, Rebecca Jackson as The Beggar Woman, Sam Kenyon as Tobias, Rebecca Jenkins as Johanna, David Ricardo-Pearce as Anthony and Colin Wakefield as Judge Turpin. This production closed February 5, 2005.
This production transferred to Broadway, opening on November 3, 2005 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, with a new cast, all of whom played their own instruments: Michael Cerveris as Todd (guitar), Patti LuPone as Mrs.Lovett (percussion and tuba), Lauren Molina as Johanna (cello), Manoel Felciano as Tobias (violin, clarinet and piano), Mark Jacoby as Judge Turpin (trumpet and percussion), Benjamin Marguson as Anthony (cello and piano), Alexander Gemignani as The Beadle (piano and trumpet), Donna Lynne Champlin as Pirelli (accordion, flute and piano), Diana DiMarzio as the Beggar Woman (clarinet), and John Arbo as Johannes Fogg (bass). It ran for 384 performances, and was nominated for six Tony awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress (LuPone) and Best Actor (Cerveris), of which it won two.
[edit] 2007-2008 Canada and U.S. national Tour
A tour of this production starring Judy Kaye (who temporarily replaced Patti Lupone in the Broadway run) as Mrs. Lovett and David Hess as Todd, began its pre-tour performances on August 30, 2007, at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Alexander Gemignani temporarily replaced David Hess in the title role for the Toronto run of the tour in November and December 2007.[12] This production toured through Canada and the United States through June 2008.[13] A second tour has just begun.
[edit] Film adaptation
A feature film adaptation of Sweeney Todd, jointly produced by Dreamworks and Warner Bros., was released on December 21, 2007. Tim Burton directed from a screenplay by John Logan. It stars Johnny Depp as Todd (Depp received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award for his performance), Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Sacha Baron Cohen as Signor Pirelli, Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony Hope, Laura Michelle Kelly as The Beggar Woman, Jayne Wisener as Johanna, Ed Sanders as Toby, and Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford. The film received high acclaim from critics and theatre goers and also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.[14]
[edit] School Edition
Music Theatre International recently adapted the production to be performed by high schoolers. The only substantial edits that have been made are the removal of the Judge's "Johanna" and slightly different lyrics for a few of the Beggar Woman interludes, as well as removing most of the swearing, and providing alterations to the stage directions so the murders didn't need to be performed onstage. Repertory Company Theatre of Dallas's school of musical theater division in the US, Ysgol Bryn Elian, North Wales from the UK, and Sunbeams School in Dhaka, Bangladesh were the first in their respective countries to perform the School Edition.
[edit] Themes
Stephen Sondheim believes that Sweeney Todd is a story of revenge and how it consumes a vengeful person. He has asserted, "…what the show is really about is obsession."[15]
Hal Prince believed it to be an allegory of capitalism and its selfish qualities. He described this theme as follows: "It was only when I realized that the show was about revenge…and then came the factory, and the class struggle—the terrible struggle to move out of the class in which you're born…"[16]
[edit] Musical analysis
Sondheim's score is one of his most complex to date, with orchestrations by his long-time collaborator Jonathan Tunick. It relies heavily on counterpoint and rich, angular harmonies. Its compositional style has been compared to those of Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, and Bernard Herrmann (who scored Alfred Hitchcock films). Sondheim also quotes the ancient Dies Irae Gregorian chant, both as part of the eponymous ballad that runs throughout the score, later heard in a musical inversion, and in the accompaniment to "Epiphany". He also relies heavily on leitmotif - at least twenty distinct ones can be identified throughout the score. Depending on how and where the show is presented, it is sometimes considered an opera.[17] Sondheim himself has described the piece as a "black operetta."[18]
In his essay for the 2005 cast album, Jeremy Sams finds it most relevant to compare Sondheim's work with operas that similarly explore the psyche of a mad murderer or social outcast, such as Alban Berg's Wozzeck (based on the play by Georg Büchner) and Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes (1945). On the other hand, it can be seen as a precursor to the later trend of musicals based on horror themes, such as The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Jekyll & Hyde (1997), Little Shop of Horrors 1982 and Dance of the Vampires (1997), which used the description of the trend, "grusical", as its commercial label.
[edit] Awards and nominations
| 1979 Original Broadway production | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Awards | Best Musical | Best Book of a Musical | Best Original Score | Best Actor in a Musical (Len Cariou) | Best Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury) | ||||||||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Best Scenic Design | Best Costume Design | Best Lighting Design | ||||||||||
| Theatre World Award | Ken Jennings and Sarah Rice | ||||||||||||
| Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | Outstanding Book | Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Cariou) | Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Lansbury) | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Jennings) | ||||||||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Merle Louise) | Outstanding Choreography | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Outstanding Lyrics | Outstanding Music | |||||||||
| Outstanding Costume Design | Outstanding Lighting Design | Outstanding Set Design | |||||||||||
| 1980 London production | |||||||||||||
| Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | ||||||||||||
| 1989 Broadway revival | |||||||||||||
| Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Musical (Bob Gunton) | Best Actress in a Musical (Beth Fowler) | Best Direction of a Musical | Best Revival | |||||||||
| Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Gunton) | Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Fowler) | Outstanding Lighting Design | Outstanding Set Design | Outstanding Revival | ||||||||
| 1993 London production | |||||||||||||
| Laurence Olivier Award | Best Musical Revival | Best Actor in a Musical (Alun Armstrong) | Best Actress in a Musical (Julia McKenzie) | ||||||||||
| 2005 Broadway revival | |||||||||||||
| Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Best Actor in a Musical (Michael Cerveris) | Best Actress in a Musical (Patti LuPone) | Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Manoel Felciano) | Best Direction of a Musical | ||||||||
| Best Orchestrations (Sarah Travis) | |||||||||||||
| Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Cerveris) | Outstanding Actress in a Musical (LuPone) | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Alexander Gemignani) | Outstanding Director of a Musical | ||||||||
| Outstanding Orchestrations (Travis) | Outstanding Set Design of a Musical | Outstanding Lighting Design | Outstanding Sound Design | ||||||||||
| Note: Winners noted in green. | |||||||||||||
[edit] Recordings and broadcasts
An original Broadway cast recording was released in 1979. It included the Judge's "Johanna" and the tooth-pulling contest from Act I, which had been cut in previews.[19]
A performance of the 1980 touring company was taped before an audience at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles during the first national tour, with additional taping done in an empty theatre. It was televised on September 12, 1982, on The Entertainment Channel and broadcast on PBS.[20] It was later released on both VHS and DVD.[21]
In July 1994, the Royal National Theatre revival production starring Denis Quilley and Julia McKenzie was broadcast by the BBC.[22] Opera North's production was also broadcast by the BBC on March 30, 1998 as was the Royal Opera House production in 2003.
In 1995, the Barcelona cast recorded a cast album sung in Catalan. This production was also broadcast on Spanish television.
The 2000 New York City Concert was recorded and released in a deluxe 2-CD set.[23]
In 2001, the same concert was held in San Francisco with the same leads and minor cast changes. It was also videotaped and broadcast on PBS, and then was released to VHS and DVD in 2001.[24]
The 2005 Broadway revival also was recorded.[25] The producers originally planned only a single-disk "highlights" version; however, they soon realized that they had recorded more music than what could be fit on one disk and it was not financially feasible to bring the performers back in to re-record. The followings songs were cut: Wigmaker Sequence, The Letter, Parlour Songs, City On Fire, and half of the final sequence (which includes The Judge's Return).[26]
In 2007, a soundtrack to accompany the film version was released. Songs were performed by the film's stars, including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener, Laura Michelle Kelly, and Ed Sanders.
[edit] References
- ^ "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". IBDB.com. Retrieved on January 17, 2008.
- ^ Sweeney Todd 1982 video.
- ^ Sweeney Todd at stageagent.com
- ^ "Brilliant Gestures" by Caridad Svich
- ^ Internet Broadway Database: Dorothy Loudon Credits on Broadway
- ^ Internet Broadway Database: George Hearn Credits on Broadway
- ^ http://www.sondheim.org/php/tv.php
- ^ Sondheim References
- ^ Gans, Andrew (June 13, 2007). "Terfel, Friedman, Evans and Quast to Star in London Sweeney Todd" Playbill.com. Retrieved on January 18, 2008.
- ^ The Kennedy Center Sondheim CelebrationSondheim Guide, Retrieved on January 18, 2008
- ^ Murray, Matthew (November 3, 2005). "Sweeney Todd". Talkin' Broadway. Retrieved on January 18, 2008.
- ^ BMW News Desk (November 17, 2007). "Gemignani Subs for Hess in 'Sweeney Todd' National Tour". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved on January 18, 2008.
- ^ BWW (September 8, 2007). "Photo Flash: 'Sweeney Todd' SF Pre-Tour Engagement". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved on January 18, 2008.
- ^ "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1183955-sweeney_todd_the_demon_barber_of_fleet_street/. Retrieved on 2008-06-27.
- ^ Sondheim & Co., Second Edition, 1986, Zadan, Craig, p. 245, Harper & Row, ISBN 006015649-X
- ^ Brown, Larry. "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street". Sondheim Notes. Retrieved on January 18, 2008.
- ^ [1]New York Times, Richard Eder, March 2, 1979, pg. C3
- ^ National Initiatives: Great American Voices Military Base Tour - Sweeney Todd
- ^ "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979 Original Broadway Cast) (CAST RECORDING)". Amazon.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
- ^ "Sweeney Todd on TV". Sondheim Guide. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
- ^ "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (1982)". Amazon.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
- ^ Hutchins, Michael H. (February 18, 2006) "Sweeney Todd". Sondheim Guide. Retrieved on September 25, 2006.
- ^ "Sweeney Todd Live at the New York Philharmonic". Amazon.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
- ^ "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert". IMDb.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
- ^ "Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Revival Cast)". Amazon.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
- ^ Fanning, Frank. "Sweeney Todd at the Cast Album Database". Retrieved on September 25, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Sweeney Todd on the Internet Broadway Database
- Sweeney Todd on The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide
- Sweeney Todd at Sondheim.com
- MTI shows detailed plot and production information
- Opening Night: 'Sweeney Todd', interviews and footage from the 2005 production (6 minutes, Flash video)
- Sweeney Todd Music Theatre Warwick's 2008 production
- Official Sweeney Todd National Tour site
- New Sweeney Todd National Tour Site
- Stephen Sondheim "The Story So Far" podcast series produced by Sony BMG Masterworks
- Review "Sondheim has more story to tell" USA Today, 10/8/08
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