Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (often referred to simply as Sweeney Todd) is a 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled The String of Pearls.
This article is about the 1979 musical. For other uses, see Sweeney Todd (disambiguation).Sweeney Todd
Stephen Sondheim
Sweeney Todd
by Christopher Bond
March 1, 1979: Uris Theatre, New York City
- 1979 Broadway
- 1980 US tour
- 1980 West End
- 1989 Broadway revival
- 1993 West End revival
- 2004 West End revival
- 2005 Broadway revival
- 2009 UK & Ireland tour
- 2012 West End revival
- 2017 Off-Broadway
- 2023 Broadway revival
- 2025 US tour
Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It has been revived in many productions and inspired a film adaptation. The original logo for the musical is a modified version of an advertising image from the 19th century,[1] with the sign replaced by a straight razor. There is also a woman wearing a blood-stained dress and holding a rolling pin next to the man.
Notes on the songs:
Productions[edit]
Original Broadway production[edit]
The original production premiered on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979, and closed on June 29, 1980, after 557 performances and 19 previews. Directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Larry Fuller, the scenic design was by the late Eugene Lee, costumes by Franne Lee and lighting by Ken Billington. The cast included the late Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett, Len Cariou as Todd, Victor Garber as Anthony, the late Sarah Rice as Johanna, Merle Louise as the Beggar Woman, Ken Jennings as Tobias, the late Edmund Lyndeck as Judge Turpin, the late Joaquin Romaguera as Pirelli, and the late Jack Eric Williams as Beadle Bamford. The production was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning eight including Best Musical. Dorothy Loudon and George Hearn replaced Lansbury and Cariou on March 4, 1980. Other replacements include Cris Groenendaal as Anthony and Betsy Joslyn as Johanna.[18]
Themes[edit]
Stephen Sondheim believed that Sweeney Todd is a story of revenge and how it consumes a vengeful person. He asserted, "what the show is really about is obsession".[81] Unlike most previous representations of the story, the musical avoids a simplistic view of devilish crimes. Instead, the characters' "emotional and psychological depths" are examined, so that Sweeney Todd is understood as a victim as well as a perpetrator in the "great black pit" of humanity.[82]
Recordings and broadcasts[edit]
An original Broadway cast recording was recorded at RCA's New York City studios[89] and released by RCA Red Seal in 1979. It included the Judge's "Johanna" and the tooth-pulling contest from Act I, which had been cut in previews.[90] It was selected by the National Recording Registry for preservation in 2013.[91]
A performance of the 1980 touring company was taped before an audience in 1981 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles during the first national tour, with additional taping done in an empty theatre for a television special. The resulting program was televised on September 12, 1982, on The Entertainment Channel.[20] It was later released on both VHS and DVD.[92]
On 2 July 1994, the Royal National Theatre revival production starring Denis Quilley and Julia McKenzie was broadcast by the BBC.[93] 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.[94] This recording was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.[95]
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.[96]
The 2005 Broadway revival also was recorded.[97] The producers originally planned only a single-disk "highlights" version; however, they soon realized that they had recorded more music than could fit on one disk and it was not financially feasible to bring the performers back in to re-record. The following songs were cut: "Wigmaker Sequence", "The Letter", "Parlor Songs", "City on Fire", and half of the final sequence (which includes "The Judge's Return").[98] This recording was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.[99]
The 2012 London revival was recorded and released on April 2, 2012, in the UK[100] and April 10, 2012, in the United States.[101]
The 2023 Broadway revival cast recording was released on September 8, 2023. This followed the release of eight single tracks from the recording, beginning on May 8 of the same year with "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Opening)."[102] The final single, "God, That's Good!" was released on September 7, just one day before the album's full release.[103] The album's full track list, slightly modified from the original cast recording, was released on August 21.[104] The only songs missing from the recording are "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprises 2-5)," Pirelli's Death," "Wigmaker Sequence," (save for "The Letter"), "Parlor Songs (Parts 2 and 3)", and "Fogg's Asylum." This recording was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.[105]