Yep, that was pretty awesome. And it's really cool how they're also all about someone else's point of view, so not "truly" about Johanna, just the idea other people have of her
Something interesting to note: that dreadful whistle that pops up throughout the show, is actually reflective of the set they used for this version of the show. It was made to reflect a Victorian factory, and that the whistle was chosen to play to make it seem as if the characters are works in this factory. It's starts off the musical like they are opening for work, and concludes the show like the factory closing for the night. Neat tid bit honestly
Something you might enjoy knowing, from Sondheim himself, regarding the musical themes: “Most audiences are more comfortable with music that is more familiar. In _Sweeney Todd,_ instead of using reprises of whole songs, I use reprises of motifs. By the time the second act rolls around, the audience is familiar with almost all the musical material. There is some new musical material in the second act, but there is nothing in the show that is not reused at least once. I had a better time writing the last twenty minutes of _Sweeney Todd_ than anything I've done since the background music of _Stavisky._ It was just a matter of ‘Okay, let’s scare them.’” (from _Sondheim & Co.,_ Craig Zadan, 1989 edition)
In regards to the romance subplot I always interpreted it as Johanna seeing Anthony as her only ticket out of the Judges house, so she plays along saying what he wants to hear all the while knowing what will happen if they fail/are found out.
@@Barbara2.0 I think that the Anthony/Johanna subplot doesn't really come to life until you actually see the play instead of just hearing the soundtrack. Most of the chemistry between those two is in their facial expressions, physicality etc. Especially in the original cast pro-shoot they come off as kind of made for each other, so cheesy as it is you buy the mutual "love at first sight" thing. Also, why do we seem to think that a woman faking love for a man in order to use him to her own ends is better than a woman naively and imperfectly in love? Why do we equate female love with weakness rather than strength? I prefer the idea that Johanna sees Anthony as her reason to leave her situation, even more than the means for her to do so. The thought of a life of her own with someone she could truly care for was what gave her the courage to try and escape. I like the idea that falling in love with Anthony takes Johanna from weakness to strength, passivity to activity. It would totally fit Johanna's character for her handsome Anthony to be "(her) reason and (her) life." After all, like father, like (spoiler!) daughter.
@@katetoldness4220 I think it's mostly because in this story it reinforces that Anthony's dreaminess out of step with the other characters of the show. Like he's supposed to be a sweet summer child that's not familiar with the cruel world the rest of the characters live in. Because his story is more like the one out of a disney fairytale, were the prince rescues a princess, love at first sight etc. It also fits more with the shows themes of obsession. Also in regards to Johanna it gives her more agency that she is pursuing something rather than things just happening to her. And I think she probably did have feelings for him just not the full blown infatuation he felt for her.
@@islasullivan3463Fair points. Don't get me wrong. I am all for Johanna having agency. I just think there is too much equating love with weakness and lack of agency when it comes to female characters kind of in general.
@@katetoldness4220 That is very true. In the case of the musical I think this critique of the love story, when taken at face value is that it's pretty much they fall in love at first sight and that's it, and can across as over the top. To me it makes not just Johanna's character more interesting, because it shows how she's somewhat aware of how desperate her situation is and what she will do to be free and her intelligence, but Anthony's as well. It shows that for all his likeness to a Disney Prince, that he is just as fallible to obsession as any other character in the show.
Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD is based specifically on a 1970 play of the same name by Christopher Bond, which Sondheim saw in London, and immediately thought might make a good subject for an operatic show. Bond's play, based on the old Victorian tale, was not only written in a poetic style, but it also gave Sweeney a backstory he'd lacked in other versions: that he'd been sent away by a wicked judge, who had his daughter, etc.
This is great!! I love this show and I love seeing your reactions, a great thing to note is that in "Epiphany" when Todd is yelling for someone to come sit on his chair he's yelling directly at audience members which is always awesome to see how different sweeney's do it their own way!
I think all of Sondheim's musicals can benefit from a deep dive into the lyrics and musical themes. It's all so deep! Just one thing I'll note: when Toby sings "Not While I'm Around" the underscoring is beautiful. But when Mrs. Lovett sings her verse, the violins sound slightly off. It's written that way because she is not sincere and would (and does) choose to protect Sweeney over Tobias.
The reason you might feel like characters are in charge of music is because that is how Sondheim wrote music. He always said that context dictates form and that music should be influenced by what the character is doing. Missing Lovett hitting the pies with the rolling pin, Pirelli sharpening the blades stuff like that :)
I would definitly recomend watching the Sideways video about sweeney todd, its such an in depth analysis of the music and made me appriciate this musical so much more!!
Another person who needs to be given an enormous amount of credit: Jonathan Tunick, the orchestrator of SWEENEY TODD, and the man who orchestrated almost all of Sondheim's work. Sondheim didn't know how to orchestrate, and so he let someone else do it - and the fact that he had Jonathan Tunick, one of the capital-G Great Artists in his field, to do the job is an absolute good. Tunick is to Sondheim's work what Robert Russell Bennett was to Rodgers & Hammerstein's work, and the fact that he could write for the incredible variety of music Sondheim gave him is amazing. Also, Tunick orchestrated this entire score in twenty-three days.
One can get a partial understanding of what Tunick brought to the table by listening to the cast albums of some of the non-Sondheim shows that he orchestrated, including Larry Grossman's *Goodtime Charley* (1975), David Shire's *Baby* (1983), Charles Strouse's *Dance a Little Closer* and *Nick & Nora,* and Maury Yeston's *Nine, Phantom,* and *Titanic.*
The Johanna before Wait was originally supposed to be Judge Turpin's song were he's beating his ... you know ,while looking at Johanna through her bedroom door's key hole and then him whipping himself and asking forgiveness from God.The scene ends with him climaxing and then proposing to her and her being socked ... It didn't made the cut in the original production ( cause it was way too dark even for this show ) ,but it has been included in some modern revivals ... You should definitely react to the 1982 pro shot ,I assure you ,you'll love it ...
@@Barbara2.0 I don't believe I've ever seen it performed where he actually touches himself. But the "God! Deliver me!" lines are him chastising himself for being turned on, and then he begins whipping himself. What's truly horrifying about the number is that without touching himself, it's the pain of the whip that ultimately brings him to climax. It really gives some perspective on who the monsters and demons in a society can be.
Really the whipping scene was cut? The version i saw that scene is basically what truly sets him up as a true villain as well as the scene with the soon to be beggar woman. To avoid spoilers.
Musical fun fact: Sondheim's musicals often feel like the actors are conducting the symphony because most songs are syllabically written. Some musicals have the singers do multiple syllables as the same note (for example, Les Mis has a lot of songs that are more free and open vocally). Sondheim tended to have each syllable take a different note, like Pretty Women or Kiss Me.
The moments where the entire cast (sweeny included) stops and addresses the audience is actually a long standing tradtion in theatre, know as a Brechtian chorus. They literally stop the main plot and tell the audience whats up and the moral
I honestly didn’t care much for the tim burton movie, so I wasn’t expecting much when my friend told me to watch the 2014 concert version. I’m glad she made me watch the 2014 version. The first number alone made me change my mind about the whole musical. The music’s amazing. The story made more sense. and I just love seeing Audra McDonald and Christian Borle on stage…❤
Omg I came here to mention that production! The first time I saw that opening number I was in my car in a parking lot. I immediately drove home to make my family watch it 😆
I did this show in college! Fun fact: For the meat pies during "God That's Good" we ate hamentashen pastries onstage. The fact that we were allowed to eat in costume at all was so unusual, so we enjoyed that. Also, we used flour to symbolize blood (and also because in theory it would be easier to clean up than stage blood, but tbh that stuff still got everywhere!)
@@Barbara2.0 there is an old proshot on the internet archives and in some bootleg drive collections. It's low quality because it was filmed in 1982 but it's with angela Lansbury and gorge hearn which are the best cast (in my opinion) for this show
In my opinion, Tim Burton did to Sweeney Todd the exact opposite of what Disney did to Into the Woods. Where Disney cut a lot of the darker moments that gave the story weight and a sincere point of view for Into the Woods, Tim Burton absolutely gutted the humor of Sweeney. Yes the story is ultimately a tragedy of revenge, but A Little Priest and God That's Good are some of the funniest songs in the musical theatre canon and they just do not land in the film the way they should (not to mention nearly all the comedic dialogue being cut). Sweeney needs to be enjoying himself during Priest, to actually be swept up joyfully in the idea of something so heinous and macabre, otherwise it just falls apart. The two of them making this revolting idea sound so funny and simple and effective is supposed to draw us into it and make us more receptive to it - Johnny and Helena playing the scene almost apathetic (which to be fair is what Tim Burton told them to do) just ruins it for me.
I learned in a history class that Sweeney Todd was originally sold as a penny dreadful or cheap horror novel in a time when the upper class was paranoid about the working class and it reflects their fear of the working classes immorality.
I have read and heard interviews with Stephen Sondheim in which he repeatedly emphasized how difficult it is to write lyrics that sit naturally on the notes of the music. I think this was his greatest talent, and it's probably why you feel like the songs are driven by the characters. He was all about writing songs that developed character and propelled the action of the plot. I had the great pleasure of seeing most of the original Broadway cast at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in the autumn of 1980. Len Cariou was replaced by George Hearn, but most of the others were original cast members, including the gloriously talented Angela Lansbury. It remains one of my fondest memories.
I just saw the current broadway revival of Sweeney Todd a couple of weeks ago, and my god it didn't disappoint, Josh Groban was intense enough, and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs Lovett was so funny and counteracted Groban's Sweeney so well! Ensemble were amazing, full 26-piece orchestra was incredible, set, lighting, sound, costume design was all spectacular, just a revival for the ages!
Almost everything Sondheim does is so good, and every single note and word is so thought out. Also, I know I’ve commented this before, but I’d still love to see you react to fun home. I really think you will love it based on what you have enjoyed in this series previously!
I just saw a production of sweeney todd this past week that had a girl play Anthony and her wife played Johanna it changed the dynamic pretty heavily and made it a lot more romantic. Also one of the things they did was have the play start off from Tobias's perspective in a straightjacket as hes awaiting his trial and the rest of the play is his recollections
Loved your insights on this musical. The choral parts of this musical just popping out of nowhere when you least expect it are great. I’d love it if you checked out the Jekyl and Hyde Musical, or Anastasia. Both are very amazing.
39:25 My dad got to hear this cast live, back when he was in his 20s! He took a trip to New York in the '70s and saw this show, with the original cast, before ever having heard it or knowing exactly what it was about. He was amazed, and this is why I was raised to be a Sondheim kid. Because it was the '70s, his father was offended that the tickets cost an entire 25 dollars. I will be forever jealous, and he's forever ruined for like any theatre production after, nothing measures up after experiencing that amazingness.
Omg my uncle Patrick Page will be SO flattered to hear you compare him to George Hearn here, he's been a massive fan of Sweeney since it first released, and has always wanted to be in it someday 😄💕
Truly begging you, on my hands and knees, to listen to Assassins by Stephen Sondheim. It’s my favorite musical of all time! NSFW, but please… there must be a way to make it happen!
Loved your reaction to the OBC recording and I too was jumpscared by the factory whistle at the start of the show. The 1982 proshot version starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury was my first awakening with this musical and I'm glad I saw that years ago here on RUclips. It really gives the vibes of the OBC recording justice and the staging is just utter perfection. The 2014 version is also really good, giving a semi-staged production vibes rather than a full-blown musical. The Tim Burton movie really did not do this musical justice because of how much of the humor was stripped off.
2:18 Sweeney Todd is based on a play by Christopher Bond, and the Bond play in turn is based on the Victorian-era Penny Dreadful The String of Pearls (the original penny dreadful is a straightforward murder-mystery, set in the 1700s, it is Bond's play which updates the setting to the 1800s, and adds the moral complexity made use of by Sondheim and co, as well as the metafictional conceit of it being based on a true story (it isn't, but pretending that it is is part of the fun)).
Honestly i love the song kiss me. It has soany layers to it. "I knew one day i would find you even though i do not know your name" she has been trapped in this house her entire life under a level of fear. Its highlighted when turpin confronts her about the sailor boy after "i feel you Johanna" and she says she wishes to always be obedient to him. He makes a pass then. And she's had to keep herdelf aloof waitinf for a way out. At this time sadly marrage or death would have been the only options so any male who takes an interest in her i have to assume she would cling to to make her escape plan possible. Yes he seaks a kiss as shes mid panic but i feel thats both lust but more so as a way to shock her back into his current reality. Her reality is shes about to be married off to her captor if she doesnt act now and any moment she could be caught bur his reality is i found the one destined to be my partner and im mid freeing her. Her minds still shackled let romantisism take flight? I think hes trying to draw her out of a craze or fear. And as she sings she points out how she feared hed never come or alretleft or was killed or was dieing from the plague or sailed off without her. There are countless thinfs that could set her back into the judges clutches. It amuses me how when she is about to sing about the jusge taking him (thats my own speculation) she demands a kiss instead. I think for her it wouldnt matter who came for her so long as its not her adopted father and or his best man.
i love the pbs lincoln center concert version of this show!! i think it should be here on youtube, you should definitely check it out! the music is played by the new york city philharmonic and the actors are all super amazing
You are totally right! Sweeney Todd works on stage as a Dark Comedy. It has to be played over the top. Tim Burton took out all of the comedy and just left the dark. I hated the movie because I already knew the play. Totally different shows.
And in this cast, Joanna, Anthony and Toby are played by older actors. In fact in real life Lou (Sweeney) is (was?) married to the actress playing Joanna.
It's worth noting that the show is essentially a "black operetta," which can help explain the "opera-ness" of their vocals. There's not a whole lot of spoken dialogue, and a great deal of singing. And practically every moment in the show is underscored, so there are few moments of true SILENCE in the show
I saw the Broadway revival in 2006ish. With Patti lupone and Michael cerveris. It was amazing. I adored it. And they definitely kept the dark humor which them playing the instruments on stage heightened it. ❤
Challenging myself to sing along with the OBC despite the pauses lmao. This is my favorite musical for soooo many reasons. I've seen like, too many adaptations, and I genuinely agree with your opinions on the movie Lovett. She's a sly, conniving "woman of the gutter" (as Mrs. Lansbury herself once said!) and knows exactly what she's doing, but she has to have that manic energy and insanity to her, or else you end up with... what we got in the movie lol. I don't even mind Johnny Depp's acting or singing, I think he does a wonderful Epiphany and he at least makes Sweeney his own. But Helena was just... very miscast. (don't even get me started on how this was her _dream_ role) Super glad you're discovering just how damn good Sondheim is at the same time as me. Keep truckin :D
Why did they make Mrs Lovett so somber in the film? I think 2 reasons. First, Tim Burton knows that Sondheim’s humor is there, but I don’t think he understands it enough to actually bring it out on film. Second, the role was originally written for Angela Lansbury and this show is a case study, more than any other show that I know, of an actor defining a role. Any production that doesn’t have Angela Lansbury, you are either going to be trying to emulate her or you will be trying to redefine the character. Patti Lupone redefined the role. She was aesthetically darker, but she still had the energy and some of the charm. I think Carter was going for that, but it just didn’t work. I saw the pro shot when it was aired on public television as a teen. It awakened my absolute love for musical theater. I love the humor, the darkness, and the complexity.
In 19th-c. London, there were weekly sensational stories published that would sell for a penny that became known as penny dreadfuls - Sweeney Todd was a character in one such penny dreadful series - it’s unknown if he was based on a historical person but he’s become part of London lore. Sondheim saw a play about Sweeney Todd and was interested in the story enough to write the musical as, he would say, he wanted to see if a musical could be scary… if you listen esp. during the first number the Ballad of Sweeney Todd the music intentionally keeps your senses heightened and on your toes - this is probably my fave Sondheim musical ever so I’m so happy to see your reaction! (Oh and also the Tim Burton movie is incredible if you get a chance to watch it) ❤
The story of Sweeney Todd has been circulating since the 1800's. Those early versions were much different and it was playwright Christopher Bond who gave Sweeney a motive... his wife coveted by a powerful bureaucrat and he being falsely accused and sentenced of a crime. Stephen Sondheim saw that 1970 play in London and he along with director Harold Prince musicalized (Sondheim's word) the play. One of the things that fascinates me is Sondheim's use of Motif and Leitmotif throughout the show. The main motif that becomes a common arc throughout the show is that of the Dies irae... a medieval song for the dead, often used in funeral rights. It's eight notes signify death in the story. Sondheim modified the Dies irae for the most part by changing one note here and adding a note there and inverts it in other places. This motif shows up in various forms in the vocals and different instrumentation many times within just the first 6 measures of the prologue beginning with the very first line of the song. One of the more fascinating things about this is that the Dies irae appears only once in its complete, traditional arrangement and that is heard in the flute and oboe when Todd sings "what happens then well that's the play and he wouldn't want us to give it away". It is Sondheim's little joke by actually giving it away by giving us the entire song of the dead for the first time. Side note about that factory whistle that made you jump at the start of the prologue... You were also a bit surprised by the first musical notes immediately after the Narrator in Into The Woods says "Once upon a time..." Sondheim also wrote the music and lyrics for that show and he loves/loved to send a message to the audience in the opening number that this story will be full of the unexpected and to keep them from getting too comfortable. Just when they think they know what's going to happen, he would throw in these little jolts... a discordant note for example.
Of course Barbara, your reactions to this fantastic show fills us in with utter delight - the much appreciated nuance of Sondheim genius shared with an all too human perspective and reaction. I'm left with yours being the best seat next to .. the Sondheim theatre experience. Thank you Barbara for presenting this in every way through your interpretation, so greatly appreciated !! New fan I am !!!
When I was really getting into theater, one of the first cast recordings I ever bought was the 2005 Broadway revival of SWEENEY TODD - so I probably had a common experience, being introduced to Sondheim with one of his most acclaimed works. And I probably had another common experience - which is that I sat down, and I listened to it, AND I HATED IT. Not because I couldn't accept the dark subject matter, but because nothing in the score was memorable, what the hell!! Your comments on the denseness of Sondheim's work are absolutely understandable: there's no shame whatsoever in not getting everything on a first listen - or even not "getting" it at first, especially with someone who writes like Sondheim. As the great critic Frank Rich, a huge Sondheim fan, once said, "Time and second hearings always tell with a Sondheim score." I would just say: Keep listening, because the rewards are *WELL* worth it :)
I don't think Sondheim intended any trite romance subplot at all, it would seem uncharacteristic of him 😂 I LOVE productions where they play on Johanna's neurotic and demented side. All the signs were there; unfortunately, most productions take the easy way out. But a truly outstanding actress playing Johanna can make her one of the most interesting characters in the show. For some reason most people overlook the fact that she killed the asylum owner, girlie literally grabbed the gun from Anthony bc he couldn't get the job done. 🙃 I remember watching an amateur prod where they made Johanna go insane in the end lol
Yeah the more I think and learn about the more genius the show and characters become. There's definitely many more layers to Johanna than you can process on a first listen and that's brilliant!
Yup. She's Sweeney's daughter, after all. The actress playing the role here in this production, however... I don't know, she kind of gets on my nerves somehow.
"And many's the poor young orphan lad At the first square meal he'd ever had A hot meat pie made out of his dad From Sweeney Todd the Barber" - A song from the early 20th century
You commented on how hard it must be to sing Johanna's part (mostly green finch) 8 times a week. I wasa soprano before I transitioned and I can confirm that for a first soprano who's properly warmed up, it doesn't actually take that much effort. Like, you have to be precise, but it's actually not notably difficult.
Loved this reaction, you are always very genuine about how you feel about things. you should react to "Miss Saigon: the definitive live recording". The girl who plays Eurydice in Hadestown (Eva Noblezada, my favourite broadway vocalist) plays the lead. She was either 18 or 19 when it was recorded, and she is incredible in it. There is also a video recording of the 25th anniversary performance that you could check out. I hope you keep making these reactions for ages to come. Thanks, bye.
Okay, I am officially addicted to this channel. As to backstory/legends, it all started in 15th century Paris. Sweeney Todd is based on this: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affaire_de_la_rue_des_Marmousets
I'll give you the brief summary of Sweeney Todd. It started as a bunch of Penny Dreadful serials from 1846 to 1847 called "The String of Pearls". The original story revolves around the mysterious disappearance Liutenant Thornhill when he had an appointment with Todd. In this story, Johanna is not Todd's daughter, her surname is Oakley, not Barker. Todd's already established as a serial killer, dropping his victims down a trapdoor attached to his chair, so they'd break their necks on the fall down. If they manage to survive, Todd comes down and finishes the job with his trusty razor. And of course, Mrs Lovett will take the bodies from under St Dunstan's church, and put them in her infamous meat pies. Note, he usually offs wealthy customers, where the plot rolls along. The basis of the Sondheim show began in 1973. Christopher Bond made a play of Sweeney Todd, giving him a sense of humanity, and motivations and reason for his murder spree. Sondheim saw this show, and he and Hugh Wheeler put the play into music, and the rest is history.
From Sondheim's musicals i've seen, they're very... what's the word... theatrical? in nature. Like, all the little jokes in his writing only work when performing infront of live audiences. His musics are great, but experiencing it with all the sets and costumes and everything on stage adds so much for you to see what he's envisioned and what his messages are.
I loooove this musical. It is so extra. Also I think I have already asked for this, but The Mad Ones is a small musical. It is good and SAD. I would love to see your reaction to it
It's actually based on a penny farthing story, in victorian times when they'd write short pamphlets with horror or dramatic stories based on crimes that occurred. Victorian were (apparently) really repressed so they ate it up.
Angela Lansbury was an absolute treasure - since long, long before Murder, She Wrote. That show may have brought her much more widespread fame but it's performances like in Sweeney and The Manchurian Candidate that made a fan of me. There is a DVD of the stage production featuring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn (who replaced Len Cariou, heard in this original cast recording). HIGHLY recommended! So much better than Burton's film despite not being "filmic", per se.
You mention the characters "conducting" the music, "having the power over the music." I don't know if this is the reason, but it might have something to do with the fact that Sondheim wrote both the lyrics and the music. And he's very good, and very sophisticated, at doing both of those things. So, while he could certainly write a nice song that has a typical song structure and rhythms, where every line in the verse has 12 syllables and in the chorus 8 syllables (or whatever poetic meter-rhythm it has), he could also write music with quite varied rhythmic structures that fit the speech-like rhythms of the lyrics but also make sense as music. I love that about Sondheim. I also love Cole Porter, who wrote both lyrics and music; you see some of that in his songs, though not to the same degree as Sondheim. (I also am a lyricist and composer, so I notice those things.)
I love learning about the technical side of coming up with a melody or the lyrics, it's fascinating, especially when it's as well thought-through as Sondheim. Thanks for that! :)
Hey, I recommend for you to listen to Cabaret. Either the 1998 Broadway cast recording or the 1993 proshot (it's on RUclips). It's a very incredible musical and I wanted to hear your thoughts on it!
My school put on this musical once, I remember sitting in The Chair while chilling in the drama studio and somebody behind me pulled the lever and tipped me off the chair and it scared the crap out of me.
To me, the Tim Burton film feels like a small, almost-horror film grounded in gritty realistic style. But onstage it feels big, and almost like grand opera with so much color and varied emotional moments - funny, and dark, and beautiful, and sad, and occasionally shocking.
Yeah I'm a movie apologist because I don't think it's really fair to judge it as an adaptation because. Well. Its not. It's more like an entirely different musical that just happens to have the same book and music
The movie saps all the energy out of the songs for me. Take Little Priest - the whole point is the contrast between the horror of the subject and the fun they're having. In the film they both sound bored. One small detail I like is that in at least one pro shot I've seen, the actress that plays Johanna also plays Sweeney's wife in the flashback accompanying 'Poor Thing'. So when Sweeney asks Turpin if she's "as pretty as her mother", she kinda has to be...
I have to agree about the movie not having the same energy. In fact, most of it seems boring in comparison to the stage show now that I'm familiar with it. I believe that's mostly to do with Tim Burton though, all his movies have this lethargy to them
Sweeney todd is based off a book called the string of pearls. Ot was said that sweeney was a real person but he was only 1 character in the string of pearls. The book is supposed to center around johanna. The daughter of a spectical maker who waits for her love from across the sea. He qent away to make a name for himself to make himself worthy of her. All that came back was a string of pearls in one of his friends hands. He was to deliver them to johanna and confess that her partner has died but he doesnt make it to her because he takes a shace from sweeney, opened his mouth about the pearls and sweemey ultimately took them for himself. We get littpe time worh mrs lovet in the string of pearls as well. Shes introduced we see her hire a wretch from the street and in the end shes poisoned by sweeney as he works on tieing up lose ends (they had a bit of a deal goong on those two. He would off people with wealth or with things that he wanted and she would have the people cooled into pies. Meat would randomly appear on these shelves in a closet for the wretch to collect and bake with. His payment was pies. We follow moatly tobious whose forced to work for Sweeney under threat of his mothers safety amd neing maybe 10 wjat was he really goong to do? When he does obtain proof of sweemeys doings sweeney ultimately bustles him off into a mad house where theres a long conversation about the boy just dieing in the night for little reason. Theres also a long chapter about this girl who was forced into the asylam because her aunt promised her everything. Wealth and property and eventually since the parents failed to off their child the child was pushed into the asylam. I think thats why johanna sinfs on the asylam in the play. It eas a nod to this character thats never materialized for the plays or movies but she had a huge impact for me in the story. Im really sad they didnt bring her into the movie or play. Even if it was just to befriend johanna. So yeah. The play was "losely" based off the book. And the play was a flop intil tim started playing.
Maybe I'm an apologist, but I feel like you might be misremembering the movie a little - I think the humor translated really well with Helena Bonham Carter's performance. Obviously she can't follow Angela Lansbury (who could) but I think she did a great job for it being shot for film rather than stage. The real problem with the film was casting Alan Rickman (RIP, incredible actor but not a strong singer) and Johnny Depp who's just not a strong enough personality to put himself into the character & give an organic performance. Being able to cast age-appropriate actors & actresses for the younger roles really helped with believability as well, at least for me. Side note, one of my friends said her uncle was cast as Antony in a local production and if he ever forgot his lines he could just start singing "Johannaaa" randomly and no one was any the wiser. Such a meme
Tbh I think they may have gone wrong with the director for the movie. I love Helena Bonham Carter, don't get me wrong, but I felt they were very different characters, and that may be because Tim Burton tends to be quite depressing sometimes and I think that robbed the movie of some of the lighter tones of the show. But anyway, that's me The second bit of your comment is GOLD hahaha
highly recommend you watch the pbs recording of a 2014 production the beginning is one of the most creative openings i've ever seen and it has christian borle in it
Hi, Barbara! This past summer I watched the 1991 recorded stage performance of Into The Woods and after doing so your reaction to it was in my recommendations. I added it to my watch later playlist and just got to it earlier today as yesterday I watched the 2014 Disney film of it and was so disappointed by it I had to watch videos pertaining to the original show. Now I'm watching some of your videos of favorite shows of mine and shows I'm familiar with. Sweeney Todd is my favorite in terms of music, which was only solidified after watching Sideways' video about how the music spoils the show's premise- I highly recommend that video as well as Sideways' videos overall if you haven't already seen it! (Sideways is the youtube channel name.) I think it will give you a lot of insight into what you were saying about feeling like the characters are driving the music. After I watch this I'm going to watch your reaction to Fun Home. My top 3 favorite musicals are Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, and Fun Home!
I see a lot of people here recommending the original cast proshoot, but can I also recommend the Lincoln center concert version? I don’t know if you still do the single song/clip reactions but the opening ballad of Sweeney Todd that concert would be a really good clip to react to
27:25 And it's here where you realise that Lovett is the actual villain here. Sweeney's murder was originally limited to (justifiable?) vengeance on Turpin and the Beadle for his deportation and the destruction of his family. It's Lovett that turns his rage into serial cannibalism.
Do you think you could please react to the Hunchback of Notre Dame musical? It's one of my all-time favorites. Patrick Page, who played Hades in Hadestown, plays Frollo in the Hunchback musical.
You need to buy the DVD with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. :) You can find it online. I think Len Carou was on your music. Both are amazing, but it's such a great watch. George Hearn knocks it out of the park!
I think the reason you feel these songs come from the character and not the play write is because that was the intent. A play is just a moving book. Its a story told instead of read. A story sung rather so the music needs to reflect the characters individually so they can be flushed out and understood. If all the music was of the same idk. Melody? Tempo? If they all felt like they came from 1 pwrson it would be a play told much differently. It would be more like into the woods with a narrator i think
Wait, did you only listen to the audio recording?? -There is a video / DVD of this! With all the dialogue. YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS. I was *_wondering_* how you did not recognize Mrs. Lovett! (-Some of the performers in the video version are different, but she is the same. If you had *seen* her, chances are you’d know who she is). By the way, her take on the story of what happened to Lucy reveals her character, not only with regard to her infatuation with Sweeney, but more generally as well; she considers Lucy a naive fool, not because she is a rival, but because she didn’t make use of the Judge’s interest in her to gain an advantage- as Mrs. Lovett no doubt would have done. If she had played up, gone along with his advances, he would have given her “the moon on a string”. Also-it is both interesting and ironic that you say Sondheim’s songs sound as if they are directed by the characters, since most of them actually tend to be extremely difficult for the singer to follow! (Seriously; try listening and singing along to thé karaoke accompaniments of one or two songs from Into the Woods)
Loved your reaction. A musical I only discovered recently but absolutely love is a gentleman's guide to love and murder, if you feel like checking out its soundtrack.
![Music &...M*RDER?! | Singer-Songwriter Watches SWEENEY TODD (2007) *REACTION* [YouTube Edit]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jJmSRv9gSSA/mqdefault.jpg)
"Sweeney and the razors have more chemistry" I'm fucking dead
I love that this show has 3 songs titles Johanna, each sung by a different character and each with a totally different melody
Yep, that was pretty awesome. And it's really cool how they're also all about someone else's point of view, so not "truly" about Johanna, just the idea other people have of her
Something interesting to note: that dreadful whistle that pops up throughout the show, is actually reflective of the set they used for this version of the show. It was made to reflect a Victorian factory, and that the whistle was chosen to play to make it seem as if the characters are works in this factory. It's starts off the musical like they are opening for work, and concludes the show like the factory closing for the night. Neat tid bit honestly
Something you might enjoy knowing, from Sondheim himself, regarding the musical themes:
“Most audiences are more comfortable with music that is more familiar. In _Sweeney Todd,_ instead of using reprises of whole songs, I use reprises of motifs. By the time the second act rolls around, the audience is familiar with almost all the musical material. There is some new musical material in the second act, but there is nothing in the show that is not reused at least once. I had a better time writing the last twenty minutes of _Sweeney Todd_ than anything I've done since the background music of _Stavisky._ It was just a matter of ‘Okay, let’s scare them.’”
(from _Sondheim & Co.,_ Craig Zadan, 1989 edition)
That's awesome
Not to mention his outside influences- “Swing your razors wide” is taken from the “Dies Irae” (Day of Wrath) in the Requiem Mass.
In regards to the romance subplot I always interpreted it as Johanna seeing Anthony as her only ticket out of the Judges house, so she plays along saying what he wants to hear all the while knowing what will happen if they fail/are found out.
I like that take much better
@@Barbara2.0 I think that the Anthony/Johanna subplot doesn't really come to life until you actually see the play instead of just hearing the soundtrack. Most of the chemistry between those two is in their facial expressions, physicality etc. Especially in the original cast pro-shoot they come off as kind of made for each other, so cheesy as it is you buy the mutual "love at first sight" thing.
Also, why do we seem to think that a woman faking love for a man in order to use him to her own ends is better than a woman naively and imperfectly in love? Why do we equate female love with weakness rather than strength?
I prefer the idea that Johanna sees Anthony as her reason to leave her situation, even more than the means for her to do so. The thought of a life of her own with someone she could truly care for was what gave her the courage to try and escape. I like the idea that falling in love with Anthony takes Johanna from weakness to strength, passivity to activity.
It would totally fit Johanna's character for her handsome Anthony to be "(her) reason and (her) life." After all, like father, like (spoiler!) daughter.
@@katetoldness4220 I think it's mostly because in this story it reinforces that Anthony's dreaminess out of step with the other characters of the show. Like he's supposed to be a sweet summer child that's not familiar with the cruel world the rest of the characters live in. Because his story is more like the one out of a disney fairytale, were the prince rescues a princess, love at first sight etc. It also fits more with the shows themes of obsession.
Also in regards to Johanna it gives her more agency that she is pursuing something rather than things just happening to her. And I think she probably did have feelings for him just not the full blown infatuation he felt for her.
@@islasullivan3463Fair points. Don't get me wrong. I am all for Johanna having agency. I just think there is too much equating love with weakness and lack of agency when it comes to female characters kind of in general.
@@katetoldness4220 That is very true. In the case of the musical I think this critique of the love story, when taken at face value is that it's pretty much they fall in love at first sight and that's it, and can across as over the top.
To me it makes not just Johanna's character more interesting, because it shows how she's somewhat aware of how desperate her situation is and what she will do to be free and her intelligence, but Anthony's as well. It shows that for all his likeness to a Disney Prince, that he is just as fallible to obsession as any other character in the show.
Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD is based specifically on a 1970 play of the same name by Christopher Bond, which Sondheim saw in London, and immediately thought might make a good subject for an operatic show. Bond's play, based on the old Victorian tale, was not only written in a poetic style, but it also gave Sweeney a backstory he'd lacked in other versions: that he'd been sent away by a wicked judge, who had his daughter, etc.
This is great!! I love this show and I love seeing your reactions, a great thing to note is that in "Epiphany" when Todd is yelling for someone to come sit on his chair he's yelling directly at audience members which is always awesome to see how different sweeney's do it their own way!
That's awesome!
I think all of Sondheim's musicals can benefit from a deep dive into the lyrics and musical themes. It's all so deep! Just one thing I'll note: when Toby sings "Not While I'm Around" the underscoring is beautiful. But when Mrs. Lovett sings her verse, the violins sound slightly off. It's written that way because she is not sincere and would (and does) choose to protect Sweeney over Tobias.
The reason you might feel like characters are in charge of music is because that is how Sondheim wrote music. He always said that context dictates form and that music should be influenced by what the character is doing. Missing Lovett hitting the pies with the rolling pin, Pirelli sharpening the blades stuff like that :)
I would definitly recomend watching the Sideways video about sweeney todd, its such an in depth analysis of the music and made me appriciate this musical so much more!!
I've been watching a lot of videos about it and the more learn the more obsessed I get tbh
His vid on sweeney todd is how i got into musicals and now i can't be satisfied listening to radio musics 😭
Another person who needs to be given an enormous amount of credit: Jonathan Tunick, the orchestrator of SWEENEY TODD, and the man who orchestrated almost all of Sondheim's work. Sondheim didn't know how to orchestrate, and so he let someone else do it - and the fact that he had Jonathan Tunick, one of the capital-G Great Artists in his field, to do the job is an absolute good. Tunick is to Sondheim's work what Robert Russell Bennett was to Rodgers & Hammerstein's work, and the fact that he could write for the incredible variety of music Sondheim gave him is amazing.
Also, Tunick orchestrated this entire score in twenty-three days.
One can get a partial understanding of what Tunick brought to the table by listening to the cast albums of some of the non-Sondheim shows that he orchestrated, including Larry Grossman's *Goodtime Charley* (1975), David Shire's *Baby* (1983), Charles Strouse's *Dance a Little Closer* and *Nick & Nora,* and Maury Yeston's *Nine, Phantom,* and *Titanic.*
The Johanna before Wait was originally supposed to be Judge Turpin's song were he's beating his ... you know ,while looking at Johanna through her bedroom door's key hole and then him whipping himself and asking forgiveness from God.The scene ends with him climaxing and then proposing to her and her being socked ... It didn't made the cut in the original production ( cause it was way too dark even for this show ) ,but it has been included in some modern revivals ... You should definitely react to the 1982 pro shot ,I assure you ,you'll love it ...
God, and here I was thinking that song couldn't be more disgusting
@@Barbara2.0 I don't believe I've ever seen it performed where he actually touches himself. But the "God! Deliver me!" lines are him chastising himself for being turned on, and then he begins whipping himself. What's truly horrifying about the number is that without touching himself, it's the pain of the whip that ultimately brings him to climax. It really gives some perspective on who the monsters and demons in a society can be.
Really the whipping scene was cut? The version i saw that scene is basically what truly sets him up as a true villain as well as the scene with the soon to be beggar woman. To avoid spoilers.
@@crunchevo8974 It was cut on the original run on Broadway. Revivials usually put it back in.
@@Barbara2.0 He isn't touching himself like that, but whipping himself with a scouring whip as penance, but the allusion is the same.
Musical fun fact: Sondheim's musicals often feel like the actors are conducting the symphony because most songs are syllabically written. Some musicals have the singers do multiple syllables as the same note (for example, Les Mis has a lot of songs that are more free and open vocally). Sondheim tended to have each syllable take a different note, like Pretty Women or Kiss Me.
The moments where the entire cast (sweeny included) stops and addresses the audience is actually a long standing tradtion in theatre, know as a Brechtian chorus. They literally stop the main plot and tell the audience whats up and the moral
I honestly didn’t care much for the tim burton movie, so I wasn’t expecting much when my friend told me to watch the 2014 concert version. I’m glad she made me watch the 2014 version. The first number alone made me change my mind about the whole musical. The music’s amazing. The story made more sense. and I just love seeing Audra McDonald and Christian Borle on stage…❤
Personally this is my favorite version of the musical tbh
Omg I came here to mention that production! The first time I saw that opening number I was in my car in a parking lot. I immediately drove home to make my family watch it 😆
I did this show in college! Fun fact: For the meat pies during "God That's Good" we ate hamentashen pastries onstage. The fact that we were allowed to eat in costume at all was so unusual, so we enjoyed that. Also, we used flour to symbolize blood (and also because in theory it would be easier to clean up than stage blood, but tbh that stuff still got everywhere!)
"that stuff still got everywhere" had me howling! xD
You absolutely need to watch the stage production of this cast. It is beautiful and dark and the end is just perfect.
I knooooooow. I can't find the proshot though :(
@@Barbara2.0 there is an old proshot on the internet archives and in some bootleg drive collections. It's low quality because it was filmed in 1982 but it's with angela Lansbury and gorge hearn which are the best cast (in my opinion) for this show
The television production is pretty great. It’s got Lansbury and Hearn and there’s a dvd floating around though it’s OOP (WB flipper case, I think).
Oh wait I think they reissued it.
@@michaelwardle7633 I have that dvd! Cost me like 4 bucks despite being out of print
It was a pleasant change seeing someone actually compliment Johanna’s singing for once!
In my opinion, Tim Burton did to Sweeney Todd the exact opposite of what Disney did to Into the Woods.
Where Disney cut a lot of the darker moments that gave the story weight and a sincere point of view for Into the Woods, Tim Burton absolutely gutted the humor of Sweeney. Yes the story is ultimately a tragedy of revenge, but A Little Priest and God That's Good are some of the funniest songs in the musical theatre canon and they just do not land in the film the way they should (not to mention nearly all the comedic dialogue being cut). Sweeney needs to be enjoying himself during Priest, to actually be swept up joyfully in the idea of something so heinous and macabre, otherwise it just falls apart. The two of them making this revolting idea sound so funny and simple and effective is supposed to draw us into it and make us more receptive to it - Johnny and Helena playing the scene almost apathetic (which to be fair is what Tim Burton told them to do) just ruins it for me.
I learned in a history class that Sweeney Todd was originally sold as a penny dreadful or cheap horror novel in a time when the upper class was paranoid about the working class and it reflects their fear of the working classes immorality.
This is amazing, I had no idea! Thanks for sharing :)
I have read and heard interviews with Stephen Sondheim in which he repeatedly emphasized how difficult it is to write lyrics that sit naturally on the notes of the music. I think this was his greatest talent, and it's probably why you feel like the songs are driven by the characters. He was all about writing songs that developed character and propelled the action of the plot. I had the great pleasure of seeing most of the original Broadway cast at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in the autumn of 1980. Len Cariou was replaced by George Hearn, but most of the others were original cast members, including the gloriously talented Angela Lansbury. It remains one of my fondest memories.
17:15 lol, pretty much only Lovett was played by a British person in the original Broadway show. Everyone else was Canadian or American.
I just saw the current broadway revival of Sweeney Todd a couple of weeks ago, and my god it didn't disappoint, Josh Groban was intense enough, and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs Lovett was so funny and counteracted Groban's Sweeney so well! Ensemble were amazing, full 26-piece orchestra was incredible, set, lighting, sound, costume design was all spectacular, just a revival for the ages!
Almost everything Sondheim does is so good, and every single note and word is so thought out. Also, I know I’ve commented this before, but I’d still love to see you react to fun home. I really think you will love it based on what you have enjoyed in this series previously!
It's on the list!
I just saw a production of sweeney todd this past week that had a girl play Anthony and her wife played Johanna it changed the dynamic pretty heavily and made it a lot more romantic. Also one of the things they did was have the play start off from Tobias's perspective in a straightjacket as hes awaiting his trial and the rest of the play is his recollections
Loved your insights on this musical. The choral parts of this musical just popping out of nowhere when you least expect it are great.
I’d love it if you checked out the Jekyl and Hyde Musical, or Anastasia. Both are very amazing.
I second Anastasia
I second Jekyll & Hyde (but only if it’s the concept album with Anthony Warlow and Linda Eder)!
39:25 My dad got to hear this cast live, back when he was in his 20s! He took a trip to New York in the '70s and saw this show, with the original cast, before ever having heard it or knowing exactly what it was about. He was amazed, and this is why I was raised to be a Sondheim kid. Because it was the '70s, his father was offended that the tickets cost an entire 25 dollars. I will be forever jealous, and he's forever ruined for like any theatre production after, nothing measures up after experiencing that amazingness.
Omg my uncle Patrick Page will be SO flattered to hear you compare him to George Hearn here, he's been a massive fan of Sweeney since it first released, and has always wanted to be in it someday 😄💕
There's rumours about him playing the judge in the new Broadway revival...👀
I really hope that's true
@@margaridatorres1273 ya I already bought my tickets for the revival , but yeah Page is almost too perfect for Turpin
I would LOVE to see Patrick Page in SWEENEY TODD!!!
@@meredithchandler73 Well, we sorta did courtesy Schmigadoon :)
He’s your UNCLE?? Fr??? I simply adore himmmm tell him he’s got thousands of fans in Brazil hahaha
Truly begging you, on my hands and knees, to listen to Assassins by Stephen Sondheim. It’s my favorite musical of all time! NSFW, but please… there must be a way to make it happen!
Oh it's happening, fear not, Adam ;)
Loved your reaction to the OBC recording and I too was jumpscared by the factory whistle at the start of the show. The 1982 proshot version starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury was my first awakening with this musical and I'm glad I saw that years ago here on RUclips. It really gives the vibes of the OBC recording justice and the staging is just utter perfection. The 2014 version is also really good, giving a semi-staged production vibes rather than a full-blown musical. The Tim Burton movie really did not do this musical justice because of how much of the humor was stripped off.
2:18 Sweeney Todd is based on a play by Christopher Bond, and the Bond play in turn is based on the Victorian-era Penny Dreadful The String of Pearls (the original penny dreadful is a straightforward murder-mystery, set in the 1700s, it is Bond's play which updates the setting to the 1800s, and adds the moral complexity made use of by Sondheim and co, as well as the metafictional conceit of it being based on a true story (it isn't, but pretending that it is is part of the fun)).
41:40 you can't hate on the jump scares then end on a jump scare, Barbara Todd! 😅
Hahahahahaha I was inspired xD
"Johanna" sung by Turpin is often left out of productions. If I remember, it was cut from the show that I watched in the 80s.
Honestly i love the song kiss me. It has soany layers to it. "I knew one day i would find you even though i do not know your name" she has been trapped in this house her entire life under a level of fear. Its highlighted when turpin confronts her about the sailor boy after "i feel you Johanna" and she says she wishes to always be obedient to him. He makes a pass then. And she's had to keep herdelf aloof waitinf for a way out. At this time sadly marrage or death would have been the only options so any male who takes an interest in her i have to assume she would cling to to make her escape plan possible.
Yes he seaks a kiss as shes mid panic but i feel thats both lust but more so as a way to shock her back into his current reality. Her reality is shes about to be married off to her captor if she doesnt act now and any moment she could be caught bur his reality is i found the one destined to be my partner and im mid freeing her. Her minds still shackled let romantisism take flight? I think hes trying to draw her out of a craze or fear.
And as she sings she points out how she feared hed never come or alretleft or was killed or was dieing from the plague or sailed off without her. There are countless thinfs that could set her back into the judges clutches.
It amuses me how when she is about to sing about the jusge taking him (thats my own speculation) she demands a kiss instead.
I think for her it wouldnt matter who came for her so long as its not her adopted father and or his best man.
i love the pbs lincoln center concert version of this show!! i think it should be here on youtube, you should definitely check it out! the music is played by the new york city philharmonic and the actors are all super amazing
You are totally right! Sweeney Todd works on stage as a Dark Comedy. It has to be played over the top. Tim Burton took out all of the comedy and just left the dark. I hated the movie because I already knew the play. Totally different shows.
And in this cast, Joanna, Anthony and Toby are played by older actors. In fact in real life Lou (Sweeney) is (was?) married to the actress playing Joanna.
It's worth noting that the show is essentially a "black operetta," which can help explain the "opera-ness" of their vocals. There's not a whole lot of spoken dialogue, and a great deal of singing. And practically every moment in the show is underscored, so there are few moments of true SILENCE in the show
Also the ensemble parts throughout "God That's Good" are fantastic
Agreed!
The musical where everyone dies...just like Hamlet.
I literally just became obsessed with this musical and was about to recommend you watch it because it's my faaaave
Perfect timing then! :D
@@Barbara2.0 There's a pro shot of this with Angela Lansburry from 1982 ,you should definitely react to it ... It's dark comedy at it's finest
I can't find it anywhere or I would've reacted to it :(
@@Barbara2.0 I downloaded it using torrent ...I can send it to you through e-mail ...I have the pro shot in mp4 format
I saw the Broadway revival in 2006ish. With Patti lupone and Michael cerveris. It was amazing. I adored it. And they definitely kept the dark humor which them playing the instruments on stage heightened it. ❤
Challenging myself to sing along with the OBC despite the pauses lmao. This is my favorite musical for soooo many reasons.
I've seen like, too many adaptations, and I genuinely agree with your opinions on the movie Lovett. She's a sly, conniving "woman of the gutter" (as Mrs. Lansbury herself once said!) and knows exactly what she's doing, but she has to have that manic energy and insanity to her, or else you end up with... what we got in the movie lol. I don't even mind Johnny Depp's acting or singing, I think he does a wonderful Epiphany and he at least makes Sweeney his own. But Helena was just... very miscast. (don't even get me started on how this was her _dream_ role)
Super glad you're discovering just how damn good Sondheim is at the same time as me. Keep truckin :D
Why did they make Mrs Lovett so somber in the film? I think 2 reasons. First, Tim Burton knows that Sondheim’s humor is there, but I don’t think he understands it enough to actually bring it out on film. Second, the role was originally written for Angela Lansbury and this show is a case study, more than any other show that I know, of an actor defining a role. Any production that doesn’t have Angela Lansbury, you are either going to be trying to emulate her or you will be trying to redefine the character. Patti Lupone redefined the role. She was aesthetically darker, but she still had the energy and some of the charm. I think Carter was going for that, but it just didn’t work. I saw the pro shot when it was aired on public television as a teen. It awakened my absolute love for musical theater. I love the humor, the darkness, and the complexity.
In 19th-c. London, there were weekly sensational stories published that would sell for a penny that became known as penny dreadfuls - Sweeney Todd was a character in one such penny dreadful series - it’s unknown if he was based on a historical person but he’s become part of London lore. Sondheim saw a play about Sweeney Todd and was interested in the story enough to write the musical as, he would say, he wanted to see if a musical could be scary… if you listen esp. during the first number the Ballad of Sweeney Todd the music intentionally keeps your senses heightened and on your toes - this is probably my fave Sondheim musical ever so I’m so happy to see your reaction! (Oh and also the Tim Burton movie is incredible if you get a chance to watch it) ❤
That's a brilliant piece of info, thank you so much!
18:06 I've been in four amateur productions of _Sweeney Todd_ and have played the Beadle and Pirelli. This scene was so much fun!
The story of Sweeney Todd has been circulating since the 1800's. Those early versions were much different and it was playwright Christopher Bond who gave Sweeney a motive... his wife coveted by a powerful bureaucrat and he being falsely accused and sentenced of a crime. Stephen Sondheim saw that 1970 play in London and he along with director Harold Prince musicalized (Sondheim's word) the play.
One of the things that fascinates me is Sondheim's use of Motif and Leitmotif throughout the show. The main motif that becomes a common arc throughout the show is that of the Dies irae... a medieval song for the dead, often used in funeral rights. It's eight notes signify death in the story. Sondheim modified the Dies irae for the most part by changing one note here and adding a note there and inverts it in other places. This motif shows up in various forms in the vocals and different instrumentation many times within just the first 6 measures of the prologue beginning with the very first line of the song. One of the more fascinating things about this is that the Dies irae appears only once in its complete, traditional arrangement and that is heard in the flute and oboe when Todd sings "what happens then well that's the play and he wouldn't want us to give it away". It is Sondheim's little joke by actually giving it away by giving us the entire song of the dead for the first time.
Side note about that factory whistle that made you jump at the start of the prologue... You were also a bit surprised by the first musical notes immediately after the Narrator in Into The Woods says "Once upon a time..." Sondheim also wrote the music and lyrics for that show and he loves/loved to send a message to the audience in the opening number that this story will be full of the unexpected and to keep them from getting too comfortable. Just when they think they know what's going to happen, he would throw in these little jolts... a discordant note for example.
Of course Barbara, your reactions to this fantastic show fills us in with utter delight - the much appreciated nuance of Sondheim genius shared with an all too human perspective and reaction. I'm left with yours being the best seat next to .. the Sondheim theatre experience. Thank you Barbara for presenting this in every way through your interpretation, so greatly appreciated !! New fan I am !!!
My heart is so full with joy. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
When I was really getting into theater, one of the first cast recordings I ever bought was the 2005 Broadway revival of SWEENEY TODD - so I probably had a common experience, being introduced to Sondheim with one of his most acclaimed works.
And I probably had another common experience - which is that I sat down, and I listened to it, AND I HATED IT.
Not because I couldn't accept the dark subject matter, but because nothing in the score was memorable, what the hell!!
Your comments on the denseness of Sondheim's work are absolutely understandable: there's no shame whatsoever in not getting everything on a first listen - or even not "getting" it at first, especially with someone who writes like Sondheim. As the great critic Frank Rich, a huge Sondheim fan, once said, "Time and second hearings always tell with a Sondheim score."
I would just say: Keep listening, because the rewards are *WELL* worth it :)
10:10 It helps that Angela Lansbury was from London.
I don't think Sondheim intended any trite romance subplot at all, it would seem uncharacteristic of him 😂 I LOVE productions where they play on Johanna's neurotic and demented side. All the signs were there; unfortunately, most productions take the easy way out. But a truly outstanding actress playing Johanna can make her one of the most interesting characters in the show. For some reason most people overlook the fact that she killed the asylum owner, girlie literally grabbed the gun from Anthony bc he couldn't get the job done. 🙃 I remember watching an amateur prod where they made Johanna go insane in the end lol
Yeah the more I think and learn about the more genius the show and characters become. There's definitely many more layers to Johanna than you can process on a first listen and that's brilliant!
Yup. She's Sweeney's daughter, after all.
The actress playing the role here in this production, however... I don't know, she kind of gets on my nerves somehow.
"And many's the poor young orphan lad
At the first square meal he'd ever had
A hot meat pie made out of his dad
From Sweeney Todd the Barber"
- A song from the early 20th century
You commented on how hard it must be to sing Johanna's part (mostly green finch) 8 times a week. I wasa soprano before I transitioned and I can confirm that for a first soprano who's properly warmed up, it doesn't actually take that much effort. Like, you have to be precise, but it's actually not notably difficult.
The original mrs. lovett was played by Angela Lansbury. She also voices mrs. Potts in the 1991 disney film beauty and the beast.
Merrily We Roll Along! ❤
36:44 I don't think that counts as a "working-it-out-before-the-big-reveal" moment. 🤣
Loved this reaction, you are always very genuine about how you feel about things. you should react to "Miss Saigon: the definitive live recording". The girl who plays Eurydice in Hadestown (Eva Noblezada, my favourite broadway vocalist) plays the lead. She was either 18 or 19 when it was recorded, and she is incredible in it. There is also a video recording of the 25th anniversary performance that you could check out. I hope you keep making these reactions for ages to come. Thanks, bye.
That's so sweet of you, Sarah, thank you!
@@Barbara2.0 You're very welcome. I hope you enjoy.
There is a youtube video of "Epiphany" with Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton.
20:09 That's why _The Contest: Part II_ was cut. 😭
Okay, I am officially addicted to this channel. As to backstory/legends, it all started in 15th century Paris. Sweeney Todd is based on this: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affaire_de_la_rue_des_Marmousets
I'll give you the brief summary of Sweeney Todd. It started as a bunch of Penny Dreadful serials from 1846 to 1847 called "The String of Pearls". The original story revolves around the mysterious disappearance Liutenant Thornhill when he had an appointment with Todd. In this story, Johanna is not Todd's daughter, her surname is Oakley, not Barker. Todd's already established as a serial killer, dropping his victims down a trapdoor attached to his chair, so they'd break their necks on the fall down. If they manage to survive, Todd comes down and finishes the job with his trusty razor. And of course, Mrs Lovett will take the bodies from under St Dunstan's church, and put them in her infamous meat pies. Note, he usually offs wealthy customers, where the plot rolls along.
The basis of the Sondheim show began in 1973. Christopher Bond made a play of Sweeney Todd, giving him a sense of humanity, and motivations and reason for his murder spree. Sondheim saw this show, and he and Hugh Wheeler put the play into music, and the rest is history.
From Sondheim's musicals i've seen, they're very... what's the word... theatrical? in nature. Like, all the little jokes in his writing only work when performing infront of live audiences. His musics are great, but experiencing it with all the sets and costumes and everything on stage adds so much for you to see what he's envisioned and what his messages are.
I loooove this musical. It is so extra.
Also I think I have already asked for this, but The Mad Ones is a small musical. It is good and SAD. I would love to see your reaction to it
It's actually based on a penny farthing story, in victorian times when they'd write short pamphlets with horror or dramatic stories based on crimes that occurred. Victorian were (apparently) really repressed so they ate it up.
This original Broadway version is so, so good.
Agreed, my friend. And I haven't even seen it yet!
Angela Lansbury was an absolute treasure - since long, long before Murder, She Wrote. That show may have brought her much more widespread fame but it's performances like in Sweeney and The Manchurian Candidate that made a fan of me.
There is a DVD of the stage production featuring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn (who replaced Len Cariou, heard in this original cast recording). HIGHLY recommended! So much better than Burton's film despite not being "filmic", per se.
You mention the characters "conducting" the music, "having the power over the music."
I don't know if this is the reason, but it might have something to do with the fact that Sondheim wrote both the lyrics and the music. And he's very good, and very sophisticated, at doing both of those things. So, while he could certainly write a nice song that has a typical song structure and rhythms, where every line in the verse has 12 syllables and in the chorus 8 syllables (or whatever poetic meter-rhythm it has), he could also write music with quite varied rhythmic structures that fit the speech-like rhythms of the lyrics but also make sense as music.
I love that about Sondheim. I also love Cole Porter, who wrote both lyrics and music; you see some of that in his songs, though not to the same degree as Sondheim. (I also am a lyricist and composer, so I notice those things.)
I love learning about the technical side of coming up with a melody or the lyrics, it's fascinating, especially when it's as well thought-through as Sondheim. Thanks for that! :)
Hey, I recommend for you to listen to Cabaret. Either the 1998 Broadway cast recording or the 1993 proshot (it's on RUclips). It's a very incredible musical and I wanted to hear your thoughts on it!
My school put on this musical once, I remember sitting in The Chair while chilling in the drama studio and somebody behind me pulled the lever and tipped me off the chair and it scared the crap out of me.
To me, the Tim Burton film feels like a small, almost-horror film grounded in gritty realistic style. But onstage it feels big, and almost like grand opera with so much color and varied emotional moments - funny, and dark, and beautiful, and sad, and occasionally shocking.
Yeah I'm a movie apologist because I don't think it's really fair to judge it as an adaptation because. Well. Its not. It's more like an entirely different musical that just happens to have the same book and music
The movie saps all the energy out of the songs for me. Take Little Priest - the whole point is the contrast between the horror of the subject and the fun they're having. In the film they both sound bored.
One small detail I like is that in at least one pro shot I've seen, the actress that plays Johanna also plays Sweeney's wife in the flashback accompanying 'Poor Thing'. So when Sweeney asks Turpin if she's "as pretty as her mother", she kinda has to be...
I have to agree about the movie not having the same energy. In fact, most of it seems boring in comparison to the stage show now that I'm familiar with it. I believe that's mostly to do with Tim Burton though, all his movies have this lethargy to them
Sweeney todd is based off a book called the string of pearls. Ot was said that sweeney was a real person but he was only 1 character in the string of pearls. The book is supposed to center around johanna. The daughter of a spectical maker who waits for her love from across the sea. He qent away to make a name for himself to make himself worthy of her. All that came back was a string of pearls in one of his friends hands. He was to deliver them to johanna and confess that her partner has died but he doesnt make it to her because he takes a shace from sweeney, opened his mouth about the pearls and sweemey ultimately took them for himself. We get littpe time worh mrs lovet in the string of pearls as well. Shes introduced we see her hire a wretch from the street and in the end shes poisoned by sweeney as he works on tieing up lose ends (they had a bit of a deal goong on those two. He would off people with wealth or with things that he wanted and she would have the people cooled into pies. Meat would randomly appear on these shelves in a closet for the wretch to collect and bake with. His payment was pies. We follow moatly tobious whose forced to work for Sweeney under threat of his mothers safety amd neing maybe 10 wjat was he really goong to do? When he does obtain proof of sweemeys doings sweeney ultimately bustles him off into a mad house where theres a long conversation about the boy just dieing in the night for little reason.
Theres also a long chapter about this girl who was forced into the asylam because her aunt promised her everything. Wealth and property and eventually since the parents failed to off their child the child was pushed into the asylam. I think thats why johanna sinfs on the asylam in the play. It eas a nod to this character thats never materialized for the plays or movies but she had a huge impact for me in the story. Im really sad they didnt bring her into the movie or play. Even if it was just to befriend johanna.
So yeah. The play was "losely" based off the book. And the play was a flop intil tim started playing.
Sweeney Todd is Sondheim's classic
Sweeney and the Judge: Pretty women
My brain: walking down the street
If you enjoy dark shows, you should listen to Parade.
With the revival being on Broadway and the current climate, it's such a timely show...
Maybe I'm an apologist, but I feel like you might be misremembering the movie a little - I think the humor translated really well with Helena Bonham Carter's performance. Obviously she can't follow Angela Lansbury (who could) but I think she did a great job for it being shot for film rather than stage. The real problem with the film was casting Alan Rickman (RIP, incredible actor but not a strong singer) and Johnny Depp who's just not a strong enough personality to put himself into the character & give an organic performance. Being able to cast age-appropriate actors & actresses for the younger roles really helped with believability as well, at least for me.
Side note, one of my friends said her uncle was cast as Antony in a local production and if he ever forgot his lines he could just start singing "Johannaaa" randomly and no one was any the wiser. Such a meme
Tbh I think they may have gone wrong with the director for the movie. I love Helena Bonham Carter, don't get me wrong, but I felt they were very different characters, and that may be because Tim Burton tends to be quite depressing sometimes and I think that robbed the movie of some of the lighter tones of the show. But anyway, that's me
The second bit of your comment is GOLD hahaha
Ken Jennings, here playing Toby, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1947.
"Oh, Anthony - you're ruining the murdering." 🤣
highly recommend you watch the pbs recording of a 2014 production
the beginning is one of the most creative openings i've ever seen
and it has christian borle in it
Hi, Barbara! This past summer I watched the 1991 recorded stage performance of Into The Woods and after doing so your reaction to it was in my recommendations. I added it to my watch later playlist and just got to it earlier today as yesterday I watched the 2014 Disney film of it and was so disappointed by it I had to watch videos pertaining to the original show. Now I'm watching some of your videos of favorite shows of mine and shows I'm familiar with. Sweeney Todd is my favorite in terms of music, which was only solidified after watching Sideways' video about how the music spoils the show's premise- I highly recommend that video as well as Sideways' videos overall if you haven't already seen it! (Sideways is the youtube channel name.) I think it will give you a lot of insight into what you were saying about feeling like the characters are driving the music. After I watch this I'm going to watch your reaction to Fun Home. My top 3 favorite musicals are Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, and Fun Home!
Hope you enjoyed the Fun Home video! ;)
You might know Mrs Lovett as Mrs J.B. Fletcher from Cabot Cove, Maine, author of "Murder, She Wrote". 😁
38:31 Going back to the start is _tight!_
I see a lot of people here recommending the original cast proshoot, but can I also recommend the Lincoln center concert version? I don’t know if you still do the single song/clip reactions but the opening ballad of Sweeney Todd that concert would be a really good clip to react to
You know, the factory whistle in the background is A LOT less jarring when you associate the sound of a factory whistle with a toilet flushing.
When Sweeny says, "At last, my arm is complete again," do you prefer when he growls the line like here, or when he roars it loud?
I definitely recommend watching the 2001 concert version with Patti LuPone and George Hearn. You can easily find it on RUclips, it's brilliant
In my opinion, George Hearn's more seasoned performance in the 2001 concert version is superior to his performance in the 1982 proshot.
If you don't know little shop of Horrors I need a video ♡
I'm just a tad over 1 min. into your video and I already love your comment about the lack of good singers in the film version!
27:25 And it's here where you realise that Lovett is the actual villain here. Sweeney's murder was originally limited to (justifiable?) vengeance on Turpin and the Beadle for his deportation and the destruction of his family. It's Lovett that turns his rage into serial cannibalism.
Do you think you could please react to the Hunchback of Notre Dame musical? It's one of my all-time favorites. Patrick Page, who played Hades in Hadestown, plays Frollo in the Hunchback musical.
2:32 > 2:41 basically me reacting to this soundtrack for the first time. And every time, really 😅🔥
You need to buy the DVD with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. :) You can find it online. I think Len Carou was on your music. Both are amazing, but it's such a great watch. George Hearn knocks it out of the park!
Absolutely. George Hearn is phenomenal!!! I prefer George to Len.
i’ve been waiting for this one !!!
Angela Lansbury KILLS it.
I realise I'm late to the party, but ... What version of "Green Finch And Linnet Bird" is this? I don't recognise the ending from the OBC album.
I think it was an alternate version listed after the finale
at some point I’d love to see you listen to ride the cyclone, its recently blown up on tiktok (deserved imo) and its wonderful.
Lots of people asking for it, I'll do it soon :)
I think the reason you feel these songs come from the character and not the play write is because that was the intent. A play is just a moving book. Its a story told instead of read. A story sung rather so the music needs to reflect the characters individually so they can be flushed out and understood. If all the music was of the same idk. Melody? Tempo? If they all felt like they came from 1 pwrson it would be a play told much differently. It would be more like into the woods with a narrator i think
Wait, did you only listen to the audio recording??
-There is a video / DVD of this! With all the dialogue. YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS.
I was *_wondering_* how you did not recognize Mrs. Lovett! (-Some of the performers in the video version are different, but she is the same. If you had *seen* her, chances are you’d know who she is).
By the way, her take on the story of what happened to Lucy reveals her character, not only with regard to her infatuation with Sweeney, but more generally as well; she considers Lucy a naive fool, not because she is a rival, but because she didn’t make use of the Judge’s interest in her to gain an advantage- as Mrs. Lovett no doubt would have done. If she had played up, gone along with his advances, he would have given her “the moon on a string”.
Also-it is both interesting and ironic that you say Sondheim’s songs sound as if they are directed by the characters, since most of them actually tend to be extremely difficult for the singer to follow! (Seriously; try listening and singing along to thé karaoke accompaniments of one or two songs from Into the Woods)
Loved your reaction. A musical I only discovered recently but absolutely love is a gentleman's guide to love and murder, if you feel like checking out its soundtrack.
Me hearing you saying the Sweeny Todd movie doesn't have real singers while Jamie is slaying. ✨💅 though I like your point of view :)
It's a true story 😂 go to London Dungeons and you'll learn about the true story of Sweeney Todd.