Review (PDF) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (Applause Musical Library)
Book by Hugh Wheeler Introduction by Christopher Bond "Mr. Sondheim fearlessly explores psychic caverns where civilized people are not dying to go ... A naked Sweeney Todd stands revealed as a musical of naked rage, chewing up everyone in its path as it spits out blood and tears." - Frank Rich, The New York Times * "A work of such scope and such daring that it dwarfs every other Broadway musical that even attempts to invite comparison." - Rex Reed, New York Daily News
Series: Applause Musical Library
Hardcover: 246 pages
Publisher: Applause Books (October 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1557830657
ISBN-13: 978-1557830654
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #2,018,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #75 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Sondheim #283 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Musicals #283 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Historical Period > Modern Popular
Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd makes sure that the man will rank with the best musical theater composers as well as the best classical composers. His eclectic, thrilling score for Sweeney Todd includes patter songs for the wonderful Mrs. Lovett, incredible arias for Sweeney Todd and romantic ballads for the young lovers. Although it is priced at $100.00, it is nearly 400 pages long and includes every note of music in the show as well as plently of dialouge that is incoroporated into musical scenes.
Fans of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" who come across this listing need to be aware that this book contains the full script from around the time of the original production, the lyrics, and the original cast list, and the lyrics and surrounding dialogue of one song cut from the original script. However, none of the score or music is given. Any music will have to come from the reader humming the tunes to the lyrics as s/he reads along. There is no foreword or commentary, except the barest hint of a comment in the Appendix, the cut song of "Johanna" sung by Judge Turpin.But this particular published version is useful for including the tooth-pulling scene in its original narrative context, which the creators cut at the time to tighten Act I. In the original structure, Judge Turpin's song of "Johanna" was to have occurred just after the tooth-pulling scene, but the creators also cut that from the original run as well. The Appendix hints only partly, and very briefly, at the reason for this song being cut, "for reasons of time". 30+ years later, if you read Sondheim's "Finishing the Hat", you will read about the other reason why the song was cut. In Sondheim's eyes, this has to do with director Hal Prince's "surprising prudishness" at what happens with Judge Turpin in the course of the song. This "Johanna" number has since been restored in most, if not all, productions since the mid-1980's, to give the story back the original 3 "Johanna" numbers (i.e. 3 different songs all with the same title). But in this book, this number is placed away from its original narrative context.Having this book of the musical is very useful for those who want to study the dialogue in a quick manner, without having to jump around a CD or DVD recording. There is an obvious typo in the header, with the misspelled word "Dewmon", which needs to be corrected.)
The $100 price tag is well worth the money to obtain this score for the original Broadway production. Although the movie version will stand alone on it's own merits, and the last New York revival went to some strange lengths to rework the staging for it's own ends, it is always best to see the original form. Having performed the role of Sweeney twice, myself, it is great to be able to own my own version of the score!
Although this does not include the music, it contains all the dialogue and lyrics of my favorite musical. The numerous photos of the casts and sets from different productions as well as costume drawings from them make this an invaluable resource for theater groups wishing to produce the play as well as fans of this musical.
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: A Musical Thriller" is perhaps the most intense dark comedy ever. The musical is not intended for those of the weak at heart. The musical is about a mad Barber who wants nothing but revenge on the judge who unjustly transported him to a prison in Australia. Having lost his first chance at the Judge, he vows to murder any one who is a costomer. The Musical shows Sondheims power when it comes to moving music. This musical touches and dares to rattle the very foundation of society as the story becomes an example of how men do not kill because they want to, men becomes killers because they are programed to. The lyrics are incredeble and very realistic... I dare even say, as I sit here writing this, I can still hear the acute shrilling of the factory whistle and from a distance Sweeney inviting me to sit on his chair.
While I do like this book and will keep it, it's not what I thought it was when I ordered it. This is not the sheet music for Sweeney Todd, it is the dialogue and lyrics only.
So book. Much great. Very wow.It had all the original stuff written by Sondheim, so interesting to see the entirety of the play and to see his vision of the characters.Foreword by Christopher Bond is very entertaining.
I needed this book for my theatrical style class. I'm not exactly a theatre freak so I didn't want to spend so much on the five plays we needed to buy for the class. In my school bookstore this book/play was $15. I got such a great deal buying it here. And the condition is great, exactly what I need. And I really appreciate the price since I am a broke college kid. :)
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