Word: sweeney
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...however, does not necessarily translate to film. A self-professed “film buff,” Sondheim said that the only onscreen version of a musical he has ever enjoyed as a film in its own right is Tim Burton’s 2007 “Sweeney Todd,” for which he wrote the music. Although some Sondheim fans were disappointed that Burton cut the recurring chorus, “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” the composer said he approved of the choice; in his opinion, choruses in musicals, during which nonessential...
...writing songs for characters in the midst of a personal crisis. “I love to write nervous breakdown songs,” he said. “I understand them so well.” The number “Epiphany” in “Sweeney Todd,” for example, marks the turning point of the show, when Todd transforms from a tragic hero into a man thirsty for blood and vengeance. The success of this particular number is crucial, because it has to justify this character’s transformation...
...notoriously bloody tale about cannibalism, “Sweeney Todd” ran to overwhelming success in the United States, where it first opened. “I used to watch the audience’s faces as they were watching Sweeney Todd singing this lovely little love song and slitting people’s throats,” Sondheim said. “They were mesmerized. They weren’t turned off. They were turned...
...what works for theater may not work for film, what works for one particular audience may not work for another; a version of “Sweeney Todd” identical to the original US production flopped in England...
...wouldn’t say they hated it,” Sondheim said. “They just thought we were idiots.” In England, the character of Sweeney Todd is often thrown around as an empty threat to scare disobedient children. Consequently, English audiences viewed Sondheim’s play as seriously as Americans might regard a musical about the Boogie Man. Nevertheless, the hostile reception still stung...