Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979)
Words & Music: Stephen Sondheim
Book: Hugh Wheeler, based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond
Premise: Benjamin Barker, a London barber banished to Botany Bay on a trumped-up charge, returns to the city 15 years later as Sweeney Todd to wreak his revenge on the Judge and Beadle who sent him down. When he meets up with his now-widowed neighbour – the impoverished pie-maker Nellie Lovett – the pair embark on a murderous scheme to turn those looking for a shave into meat pies.
Background: Bond’s 1973 play gave the Victorian demon barber a tragic motive: revenge against a corrupt society. Sondheim saw its potential as a musical horror story, and asked librettist Hugh Wheeler to shape the book. Director Harold Prince expanded it into a vision of industrial Britain consuming its own people, and the 1979 Broadway premiere used Eugene Lee’s vast iron-foundry set and Jonathan Tunick’s sweeping orchestrations to create an almost operatic scale. Len Cariou starred as Todd, with Angela Lansbury as Mrs Lovett.
Reviews were admiring but divided: some praised its ambition and theatrical power, while others found it bleak and emotionally distant. It ran for 557 performances and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Major productions:
1979 Broadway: Uris (now Gershwin) Theatre
1980 London: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
1982 TV: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
1999 Los Angeles Reprise! Concerts
2000 New York Philharmonic Concerts
2000 Bridewell Production
2001 Television Concert
2002 Kennedy Center Production
2002 Lyric Opera of Chicago Production
2004 New York City Opera Revival
2012 London Revival
2014 New York Philharmonic Concerts
2014 Tooting Arts Club - Harrington's Pie Shop
2015 London Revival - London Coliseum
2017 Off-Broadway Revival - Barrow Street
2019 Northern Ireland Opera
2019 Everyman/Playhouse
2023 Broadway Revival
2023 Signature Theatre
2026 Birmingham Rep
Broadway (1979)
Uris (now Gershwin) Theatre
222 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019, USA
Previews: 6 February 1979
Opens: 1 March 1979
Closes: 29 June 1980
Performances: 557
Director: Harold Prince
Musical Director: Paul Gemignani
Designer: Eugene Lee
Costume Designer: Franne Lee
Lighting: Ken Billington
Dance and Movement: Larry Fuller
Producers: Richard Barr, Charles Woodward,
Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Len Cariou (replaced by George Hearn on 4 March 1980)
Mrs Lovett: Angela Lansbury (replaced by Dorothy Loudon on 4 March 1980)
Judge Turpin: Edmund Lyndeck
Beadle Bamford: Jack Eric Williams
Pirelli: Joaquin Romaguera
Beggar Woman: Merle Louise
Anthony Hope: Victor Garber (replaced by Cris Groenendaal)
Tobias Ragg: Ken Jennings
Johanna Barker: Sarah Rice (replaced by Betsy Joslyn)
Jonas Fogg: Robert Ousley
Musical Numbers:
Prologue
"Organ Prelude" - Instrumental
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" - Chorus, Todd
Act I
"No Place Like London" - Anthony, Todd and Beggar Woman
"The Barber and His Wife" - Todd
"The Worst Pies in London" - Mrs Lovett
"The Barber and His Wife (Reprise)/Poor Thing" - Mrs Lovett
"My Friends" - Todd and Mrs Lovett
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprise 1)" - Chorus
"Green Finch and Linnet Bird" - Johanna
"Ah, Miss/Green Finch and Linnet Bird (Reprise)" - Anthony, Johanna and Beggar Woman
"Johanna" - Anthony
"Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" - Tobias, Todd, Mrs Lovett and Chorus
"The Contest" - Pirelli
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprise 2)" - Chorus
"Johanna (Mea Culpa)" - Judge Turpin
"Wait" - Mrs Lovett
"Pirelli's Death" - Pirelli
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprise 3)" - Tenor Trio
"Kiss Me" - Johanna and Anthony
"Ladies in their Sensitivities" - Beadle and Judge Turpin
"Kiss Me (Quartet)" - Johanna, Anthony, Beadle and Judge Turpin
"Pretty Women" - Todd and Judge Turpin
"Epiphany" - Todd
"A Little Priest" - Mrs Lovett and Todd
Act II
"God, that's Good!" - Tobias, Mrs Lovett, Todd and Chorus
"Johanna (Quartet)" - Anthony, Todd, Beggar Woman and Johanna
"By the Sea" - Mrs. Lovett and Todd
"Not While I'm Around" - Tobias and Mrs Lovett
"Parlor Songs":
-
"Sweet Polly Plunkett" - Beadle
-
"The Tower of Bray" - Beadle, Mrs Lovett and Tobias
-
"Sweet Polly Plunkett (Reprise)" - Mrs Lovett"
The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprise 5)" - Chorus and Lunatics
"Final Sequence":
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"City on Fire" / "Searching" - Johanna and Beggar Woman / Mrs Lovett and Todd
-
"Ah, Miss (Reprise)" - Anthony and Johanna
-
"Beggar Woman's Lullaby" - Beggar Woman
-
"Pretty Women (Reprise)" - Todd and Judge Turpin
-
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprise 6)" - Chorus
-
"Final Scene" - Mrs Lovett and Todd
Epilogue
-
"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Reprise 7 - Finale)" - Company
Awards:
Tony
Best Musical
Best Original Musical Score (Stephen Sondheim)
Best Book of a Music (Hugh Wheeler)
Best Director of a Musical (Harold Prince)
Best Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury)
Best Actor in a Musical (Len Cariou)
Best Costume Designer (Franne Lee)
Best Scenic Designer (Eugene Lee)
Drama Desk
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Music (Stephen Sondheim)
Outstanding Lyrics (Stephen Sondheim)
Outstanding Book of a Musical (Hugh Wheeler)
Outstanding Director of a Musical (Harold Prince)
Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury)
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Merle Louise)
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Ken Jennings)
New York Drama Critics' Circle
Best Musical
Outer Critics Circle Award
Best Broadway Musical
Grammy
Best Cast Show Album
Tooting Arts Club (2014)
Birmingham Rep
3 Selkirk Rd, Tooting, London SW17 0ER
Previews: 21 October 2014
Opens: 27 October 2014
Closes: 29 November 2014
Performances: 38
Director: Bill Buckhurst
Musical Director: Benjamin Cox
Designer: Simon Kenny
Lighting: Amy Mae Smith
Sound: Josh Richardson
Producer: Rachel Edwards
Co-Producer: Hilary Williams
Associate Producer: Tracey Childs
Cast:
Mrs Lovett: Siobhan McCarthy
Sweeney Todd: Jeremy Secomb
Judge Turpin: Duncan Smith
Beadle Bamford: Ian Mowat
Pirelli/Beggar Woman: Kiara Jay
Anthony Hope: Nadim Naaman
Tobias Ragg: Joseph Taylor
Johanna Barker: Grace Chapman (replaced by Zoe Doano)
Musical Numbers:
The 32-seat pie shop (established 1908, closed 2025) placed some restrictions on the show, resulting in a number of cuts. As per the 1979 Broadway production, except "Tooth Pulling Scene" was dropped, "The Letter" was spoken by Todd, and the Lunatics were dropped.
Photographs: Bronwen Sharp
The Rep, Birmingham (2026)
The House at The Rep
6 Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2EP
Previews: 4 July 2026 (11 previews)
Opens: 15 July 2026
Closes: 15 August 2026 (extended from 9 August)
Performances: 36
Director: Joe Murphy
Musical Director: Leon Munby
Musical Supervisor/Musical Reduction: Dr John Rigby
Designer: Elin Steele
Lighting Designer: Rory Beaton
Sound Designer: Kelsh Buckman-Drage
Sound: Oscar Shackleton, Harry Barlow, Sylvia Turner
Movement Director: Tinovimbanashe Sibanda
Fight & Intimacy Director: Maisie Carter for MC_Combat
Wardrobe Manager: Kay Wilton
Wigs Assistant: Andriea Nelson
Costume Dressers: Roanne Bray, Chris Pine
Cast:
Sweeney Todd: Ramin Karimloo
Mrs Lovett: Meow Meow
Judge Turpin: David Bedella
Beadle Bamford: Julius D’Silva
Anthony Hope: Shem Omari James
Johanna Barker: Jo Stephenson
Adolpho Pirelli: Silas Wyatt-Barke
Beggar Woman: Florence Andrews
Tobias Ragg: Jack Gibson
Ensemble: Emily Ivana Hawkins, Hadrian Delacey
Orchestra:
Musical Director/Keyboards: Leo Munby
Clarinet/Bass Clarinet: Mebrakh Ainsworth-Moores
Violin: Michael Keelan, Jo Archard (28 July onwards)
Cello: Francesca Cull
Double Bass: Phoebe Cheng
Drum Kit/Percussion: Dan Hayward
Associate Conductor: Christopher Mundy
Keyboard Programmer: Lucy Baker-Swinburn
Musical Numbers:
As per the 1979 Broadway production, except "Tooth Pulling Scene"
Photography: Manuel Harlan
