Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (theatre): Difference between revisions

''Sweeney Todd'' (subtitled "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"), is a highly-regarded musical with music and lyrics by [[Stephen Sondheim]] and book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the Christopher Bond version of the legendary story of an English barber who murdered his customers and, with the help of his neighbor Mrs. Lovett, [[I'm a Humanitarian|made them into pies]]. In this version of the story, Todd is out to get revenge on a corrupt Judge who sent him to prison on false charges, raped his wife, and [[Wife Husbandry|"adopted"]] his daughter fifteen years ago. Mrs. Lovett smoothly tries to dissuade him from this goal so that he can settle down with her.

 

 

=== The musical provides examples of: ===

* [[Dangerously Close Shave]]: 'Nuff said.

* [[Dead Man's Chest]]: Signore Pirelli's final fate.

* [[Dirty Old Man]]: Judge Turpin is an extremely evil example.

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Sweeney's part in the Johanna Quartet is this. He murders people in an eerily detached manner, singing a gorgeous song.

** Some productions may have Sweeney fill this trope after {{spoiler|he realizes he killed his wife}}. Though arguably it'd be assisted suicide. Take the concert production, Sweeney unbuttons his collar so {{spoiler|Toby can slit his throat easier.}}

* [[Drum Roll, Please]]: Toby does this himself while presenting "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir".

* [[Eat the Evidence]]: Does this really require explanation?

* [[Eat the Rich]]: During "A Little Priest," Sweeney briefly considers exclusively serving the upper classes in Mrs. Lovett's pie shop before discarding the idea as "discriminating."

** Throwing Johanna into [[Bedlam House|Fogg's Asylum]] for defying Turpin (Judge Turpin)

** Pirelli's brutal treatment of poor Toby also qualifies as a [[Kick the Dog]] moment.

* {{spoiler|[[Kill'Em All]]}}: Were you expecting a revenge tragedy to have a happy ending? {{spoiler|Sweeney Todd, Judge Turpin, Lucy, and Mrs. Lovett are all dead. Only Toby, Johanna, and presumably Anthony are all alive. The police burst into the bakehouse just after Toby has slit Sweeney's throat, and is deliriously repeating Mrs. Lovett's secret of how to make the pies juicy and tender. "Three times, that's the secret.. three times through the grinder." This suggests that Toby is on his way to a [[Bedlam House]]. Anthony and Johanna are also there with the police, though their presence is not explained (probably the fact that Johanna just witnessed two grisly murders has to do with it, though), and whether or not they get anything resembling a happy ending is left open to interpretation.}}

* [[Kill the Ones You Love]]: {{spoiler|Sweeney kills Lucy unaware that she is actually the beggar}}.

Ladies in their sensit-|ivities, my Lord}}

* [[Moment Killer]]: Anthony walks into the barbershop for one of his trademark [[What an Idiot!|interruptions]] right after Mrs. Lovett suggests to Sweeney that they can "have a life together." [[Your Mileage May Vary|YMMV]], especially if you're not a Sweeney/Lovett fan.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: After realizing {{spoiler|that the old beggar woman he killed was Lucy}}, Sweeney Todd has this reaction, before {{spoiler|turning his anger towards Mrs. Lovett, who told a bit of a [[Jedi Truth]]}}.

* [[Mystery Meat]]

They all deserve to ''die!'' }}

* [[No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me]]: Sweeney to Turpin, the [[Trope Namer]]. Also {{spoiler|the Beggar Woman}}.

** Which actually helped sharpen the character's isolation from the rest of the cast, most of whom either were English or affecting [[Fake Brit]] accents.

* [[Obi-Wan Moment]]: {{spoiler|Sweeney's death.}}

* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|Pre-Asskicking]]/[[Pre-Mortem One-Liner]]: "BENJAMIN BARKER!!!"

* [[Psycho Supporter]]: Mrs. Lovett's support of Sweeney's murder sprees and her eagerness to get rid of the corpses in such a disturbed manner make her a prime example of this trope.

* [[Reduced to Ratburgers]]: In the time that the play is set in, there is a meat shortage in London, such that those without means often have to turn to other avenues to get their meat, such as catching animals off the streets to be made into pies. It is this situation which leads to Mrs. Lovett's idea to serve up Sweeney's victims as meat pies. After all...

{{quote| '''Sweeney:''' These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett, and desperate measures are called for.}}

* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: One of the best scores in musical theatre belongs to a play about a guy who slits people's throats and has them baked into pies.

** A beautifully [[A Worldwide Punomenon|executed]] example in the "Johanna" sequence near the beginning of Act II, where Sweeney's steady, gentle, romantic theme is at odds with the atrocities he is simultaneously committing, showing how disassociated he has become.

** A case for Mrs. Lovett being one of these can be made with respect to Todd. She waited ''15 years'' for him and never knew him any more than in passing. She also outright confesses she's been ''watching'' him. Which is pretty [[Squick|squicky]] even if she is played by a grotesquely attractive Helena Bonham Carter.

* [[Stalking Is Love]]: Anthony's infatuation with Johanna and Mrs. Lovett's obsession with Sweeney Todd can both come across like this. Judge Turpin appears this way at first, but this is horribly subverted when a few minutes later it's revealed that {{spoiler|he rapes Lucy}} after seemingly attempting to court her.

* [[That Man Is Dead]]: "It's Todd now. Sweeney Todd. And he will have his revenge."

* [[That Reminds Me of a Song]]: The Beadle's "Parlour Songs". The fact that he is spending so much time singing is relevant to the plot, but the content of the songs is not.

* [[Tragic Dream]]: She may be a [[Complete Monster]], but Lovett's enthusiastic dream of marrying Todd and living a blissful life in a seaside [[Stepford Suburbia]] is never going to happen. As everything starts falling apart she seems to grow desperate to cling to this.

* [[The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter]]: Sweeney Todd and Johanna. [[Justified Trope]] as 15 years in prison would not do wonders in the looks department.

** Judge Turpin - bass

* [[Weapon of Choice]]: Sweeney's razors.

* [[Wife Husbandry]]: Judge Turpin attempts this in regards to Johanna. {{spoiler|It fails.}}

* [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]: We are asked to accept that a serial killer can operate so openly for so long before people realize that very few customers of Todd's are ever seen again after their appointments. However, it seems that the plan is only to dispose of visiting foreigners and other people who have no close acquaintances in the city, which makes it slightly more believable.