Rick Pender’s book on Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd considers the history of this complex show, the ‘bloody musical masterpiece’ which sits on the line between musical and opera.
First produced in 1979, Sweeney Todd takes on historical myths alongside the brutal reality of Victorian England.
Pender structures the narrative from the inspiration of penny dreadfuls on Todd and others, through dramatic stage productions, the musical’s stage premiere, the film adaptation, and stage revivals in theatre and opera houses up to the present day.
This may be retreading old ground for committed followers of both Sondheim and the Grand Guignol tradition of grisly horror shows.
Pender’s prior expertise on Sondheim as author of The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia puts him in good standing to explore his works in depth, and this is what the book promises: a look “behind the bloody musical masterpiece”.
Many aspects of the initial creative process are all included, with mention of people such as playwright Christopher Bond, whose play inspired the musical, director Hal Prince.
Performers like Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou are discussed, but the overall effect is rather fragmentary, with later stage productions relegated to a simple paragraph.
Despite its depth and energy, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd could have less focus on Tim Burton’s film, which jettisons some of the score and is not populated by trained singers, and more consideration of some of the great partnerships the musical has seen on the stage.
I valued the appendices: a list of worldwide productions and a song-by-song commentary; they are informative and detailed. Also of great interest is the chapter on recordings, allowing a compare and contrast approach as the reader wishes.
This book belongs on musical theatre fan shelves, but a more scholarly dip into the minutiae of Sondheim’s classic might be more satisfying. Pair this with Sondheim’s own thoughts in Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) to get a fully rounded picture.
Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: Behind The Bloody Musical Masterpiece is published by Bloomsbury and is available now.