It was 1846 when Sweeney Todd first appeared -- in what we'd now call a horror 'zine -- starring in a short story called A String of Pearls, or The Fiend of Fleet Street. It was then dramatized for the stage the next year. There's been no definite connection to any historical character, though the murderous barber out for revenge (as Sondheim.com points out) is "possibly rooted in truth."
Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince, looking for source material for their next show, were drawn to Christopher Bond's 1973 play Sweeney Todd. The Broadway musical version, operatic in technique and scope, opened in 1979, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. Running for 557 performances, it starred Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury, who were eventually succeeded by George Hearn and Dorothy Loudon.
There have been a number of subsequent revivals, the most recent on Broadway in 2005 starring Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. It was a dramatic departure from the original, stripped down to a handful of actors, who also played musical instruments in lieu of an orchestra.
In this unlikely chain of events (or string of pearls, perhaps), Johnny Depp takes on the role in the Tim Burton-directed movie. Yes, Depp sings. And you can hear a bit of it (not bad, either) on the film's website.
What's next, Sweeney on ice?
written on Thursday Nov 29, 2007
the razor's edge.
