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Sweeney Todd

 I’m seeing “Sweeney Todd” tonight, and the thing that has me humming is just language:


Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop…

Does a business, but I’ve noticed something weird:

Lately all the neighbors’ cats have disappeared….

Wouldn’t do in *my* shop.

Just the thought of it’s enough to make you sick.

And I’m telling you, them pussy cats is quick….


People in Sondheim’s world are batty and shrewd, just like real people. Here is a “filibuster” answer, when someone inquires about human meat pies:


What’s my secret?

Frankly, dear, forgive my candor….

Family secret….

All to do with herbs!

Things like….being careful with your coriander….

That’s what makes the gravy grander….


Even a streetwalker’s sales pitch is lyrical and precise and so strange:


How’s about a little mischief?

A little jig-jig?

A little bounce around the bush?

Wouldn’t you like to push me crumpet?

It looks to me, dear, like you’ve got plenty there to push….


One reason people say this work is “Shakespearean” is that each major character seems alive; there is humor mixed with the blood and screaming; and the writer is deeply interested in *two* worlds, a world of miserable affluence and a world of poverty. Although I haven’t seen “Sweeney” yet, it’s hard to imagine “Parade” winning Best Revival at the Tony Awards—just because of the “writing” question. I think the judges have to consider the quality of the writing.

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