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Sweeney Todd

 My love for "Sweeney Todd" has to do with vengeance. This is a show about settling scores, and the writer has deep ambivalence about the ideas of Hammurabi:


To seek revenge may lead to hell--
But everyone does it, and seldom as well...
As Sweeney....as Sweeney Todd....

In other words, Sondheim says, "Don't pretend you're *above* the idea of revenge. Sweeney may be a mess, but he certainly commits to his goals...."

I think our human desire for revenge is the reason we laugh, uncomfortably, in certain moments of "Sweeney":

The history of the world, my sweet...
Is who gets eaten, and who gets to eat....
It's priest! Have a little priest!
Is it any good?
Mmm...it's *too* good....at least....

When we lash out, we are really "eating ourselves" -- but who can resist the urge to lash out?

Early in the show, Sondheim tells us exactly where he is headed; we may not believe him, but he presents the roadmap, and his sentences are simple, direct:

We all deserve to die!
Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why:
Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief.
For the rest of us, death will be a relief....
We all deserve to die!

I'm still wary about Josh Groban, but I'm really excited about this show.
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