Okay, I’m jumping the gun a bit. But I’ve had my eye on this one since I heard it was in development eighteen months ago.

Here’s why I’m looking forward to it.

SWEENEY TODD

The story of Sweeney Todd is a British folktale or urban legend, with its roots in the early 1800s. There are many versions of the story, but the basic elements are usually consistent. Sweeney is a barber in London. A corrupt judge takes a fancy to his wife, arrests Sweeney, and banishes him to Australia/Canada/America. Sweeney serves his sentence and returns years later, to discover that his wife has been seduced and abandoned by the evil judge. Sweeney then embarks on a campaign of bloody revenge, killing patrons under his barber’s razor, until he finally murders the judge. In the more sanguinary versions, Sweeney has a friend, Mrs. Lovett, a pie shop owner, who abets him by baking the corpses of his victims into pies.

I put myself through college playing in a traditional folk band, and I first ran into the legend of Sweeney in the form of a ballad called “The String of Pearls”. His tale has had many iterations, primarily as Grand Guignol style theatrical spectacles. In 1936 the legend was filmed as a lurid melodrama. Christopher Bond’ 1973 play “Sweeney Todd” was the first theatrical version to turn Sweeney from a simple serial killer into a more complex and interesting character.

And then in 1979, Stephen Sondheim, fresh off “Pacific Overtures”, took the Sweeney legend and produced what remains, in my never humble opinion, his masterpiece.

“Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, was the best theatrical musical of the last forty years. Sondheim takes the folk tale of Sweeney and transforms it into something as close to opera as the American musical has ever come. The urban myth become a huge, dark tale of murder, love, memory, regret, and cruel workings of cold fate in a brutal, uncaring universe without light or mercy. And believe it or not - he manages to make this midnight-black vision both entertaining and very, very funny.

Here’s a sample. In five minutes of absolute horror, Sweeney rages about murdering all those who have wronged him. The ever-practical Mrs. Lovett then hesitantly suggests to him that it would be a waste just to throw away all those nice corpses. Her failing meat pie shop could certainly use the supply. Tickled by the irony “of those above serving those down below”, Sweeney agrees to provide her with raw material for her meat pies, and in an insanely dark and funny duet, they compare the merits of different professions as ingredients in a song called “Try A Little Priest”.

TODD: (spoken) These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett, and desperate measures are called for!
LOVETT: Here we are, now! Hot out of the oven!
TODD: What is that?

LOVETT:
It’s priest. Have a little priest.
TODD:
Is it really good?
LOVETT:
Sir, it’s too good, at least!
Then again, they don’t commit sins of the flesh,
So it’s pretty fresh.
TODD:
Awful lot of fat.
LOVETT:
Only where it sat.
TODD:
Haven’t you got poet, or something like that?
LOVETT:
No, y’see, the trouble with poet is
‘Ow do you know it’s deceased?
Try the priest!

TODD: (spoken) Heavenly!
Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps,
but then again, not as bland as curate, either!

LOVETT:
And good for business, too — always leaves you wantin’ more!
Trouble is, we only get it on Sundays!

Lawyer’s rather nice.
TODD:
If it’s for a price.
LOVETT:
Order something else, though, to follow,
Since no one should swallow it twice!
TODD:
Have you any dean?
LOVETT:
No, but if you’re British and loyal,
You might enjoy Royal Marine!
Anyway, it’s clean.
Though of course, it tastes of wherever it’s been!
TODD:
Is that squire,
On the fire?
LOVETT:
Mercy no, sir, look closer,
You’ll notice it’s grocer!
TODD:
Looks thicker,
More like vicar!
LOVETT:
No, it has to be grocer –
It’s green!

The original cast featured Canadian Len Cariou as Sweeney, and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett in an absolutely brilliant, black-hearted comic performance…perhaps the best stage work she ever did. The songs are all in Victorian/Music-Hall style with a bleak, Brechtian tint, but with Sondheim’s marvellous wit and sophistication. From the opening scream of a Victorian factory’s steam whistle to the last terrible moments, with their subtle echo of “Dies Irei”, this is a masterpiece of composition from one of the best composers working in theatre.

I’ve seen it on stage three times now… in New York, Toronto, and Ottawa…and each time I walked away shaken, disturbed and delighted by its darkness and its virtuosity. A stage performance was filmed and is available on DVD; but for some reason, it’s never been made into a movie.

THE MOVIE

I once wrote to Stanley Kubrick, suggesting that since he had never directed a musical, he might attempt Sweeney Todd…its vision of humanity was just about dark enough for him. Stanley never responded. Instead he made “Eyes Wide Shut”, which goes to show that you should always listen to me when I give you career advice.

But now Tim Burton is assaying it. Will it work? Well, I’m hopeful.

a) He has a wonderful cast. Johnny Depp will be playing Sweeney, and he’s brilliant, and has always worked well with Tim Burton. The rest of the casting is inspired: Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman as the Judge, and dozens of other neat surprises, including Sasha Baron Cohen as Augusto Pirelli, the cheap Irish haircutter masquerading as a Grand Barber.

b) Burton does black mock-Victorian REALLY well…think of the Castle in Edward Scissorhands, or any of his animations.

c) This is such a powerful piece of musical theatre that it’s hard to conceive of ANYONE blowing it, let alone a director who’s shown intermittent flashes of brilliance.

So, my friends… forget your Spiderman sequels, your Batman Prequels, your Bournes, your Harry Potters, your X Men, your Fantastic Fours, your zombies, vampires, pimps and Oceans’ whatever. This is going to be very, very good.

“Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd
He served a dark and a vengeful God
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard from again
For neatness he deserved a nod
Did Sweeney Todd…
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street…”