095: Sweeney Todd (2007) - A Fairly Expected Number of Cannibal Puns

A Matter of Taste

SPOILERS FOR SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET.
In this episode:

• Apologies to Mr. Sondheim for the opening. :P
• We discuss Sondheim's masterpiece horror musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, including the 2007 movie adaptation, the original Broadway production, and the 2005 Broadway revival.
• How does the 2007 movie fare as an adaptation?
• The genre discussion comes up again.
• Craft & theory talk! Overtures, the Ballad, and the opening “number(s)” of a musical, and how they introduce the audience to world, language, form, etc. of the musical
• Sondheim teaches "My Friends"
• Ian loves the 2005 Broadway revival. Let him show you his thoughts on it.
• The narrative layers in the revival
• Denouements: where have they gone?

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• Apologies for the lateness. Life happens.
• Also apologies for all the weird car noises in the background; that’s probably on me. – Ian
• I think what I was trying to say when talking about Anthony is that even with all the circumstances surrounding his and Johanna’s romance, you’re still rooting for them, and it’s partially because of the circumstances. Them running off together isn’t the perfect solution, but it’s certainly better than her staying with the Judge.
• I also think that a lot of the stuff I say is in the liner notes of the 2005 revival may have actually been in articles I read at the time the show was on Broadway.
• “Singing that violin line”? Playing. That’s what I meant.
• UPDATE 7/25: Linked the "Sondheim teaches..." video above. Forgive me for forgetting. (...Sweeney pun?)

Music:

• "This is My Design" - Ian Doherty | SoundCloud | Bandcamp |
• "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" - Original Broadway Cast | YouTube | Amazon |
• "A Little Priest" - Original Broadway Cast | YouTube | Amazon |
• "Epiphany" - Original Broadway Cast | YouTube | Amazon |
• "My Friends" - 2005 Broadway Revival Cast | YouTube | Amazon |
• "Kiss Me" (Quartet) - 2005 Broadway Revival Cast | YouTube | Amazon |
• "Not While I’m Around" - 2005 Broadway Revival Cast | YouTube | Amazon |
• "Epiphany" - 2005 Broadway Revival Cast | YouTube | Amazon |

http://archive.org/download/AMOT095/AMOT095.mp3