Sweeney Todd

October 19th, 2008

Image taken from wikipedia.org

This has been considered by many to be one of the greatest musicals ever written. It was written by playwright Stephen Sondheim during the 1970s. The story tells of a man who has been framed for murder and sent away to prison for many years. After he is released, he returns to his native London to get revenge against the Judge who sent him away and took away his wife and daughter. The musical has been done on Broadway many times and has been made into the Academy Award winning film by Tim Burton.

The character of Sweeney Todd was based on a story entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance, in a London newspaper. There have a few historians who said there was a historical basis for this character. However, the most likely place where this legend was founded upon was in Charles Dickens’ novel Martin Chuzzlewit, which appeared two years before the mentioned story. Many scholars of history has since concluded that Sweeney Todd was most likely not a real person. If he had been, this story would be much more well known.

Wherever the story came from, it is the perfect plot for a musical-thriller. The idea that this man is so consumed by revenge that he kills people in such a gruesome way, is so outlandish and scary. One can almost assume that the viewer must be sick in the head if they actually enjoy this story. But I guess it is good to sometimes see something so far fetched and sick so we can entertain that crazy side of our mind.

Sources/ Further Reading

http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Sweeney_Todd:_The_Demon_Barber_of_Fleet_Street

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweeney_Todd

Ian Biographies, Horror Movie Characters, Psychotic Killers, Urban Legends