He was able to take all these disparate elements that had been in existence rather dully for a hundred and some-odd years and make them into a first-rate play.”

He also infused into it plot elements from Jacobean tragedy and The Count of Monte Cristo. because wrote certain characters in blank verse. Sondheim once observed, “It had a weight to it . īond's sophisticated plot and language significantly elevated the lurid nature of the tale. Stephen Sondheim first conceived of a musical version of the story in 1973, after he saw Bond's take on the story at Theatre Royal Stratford East. In Bond's reincarnation of the character, Todd was the victim of a ruthless judge, who exiled him to Australia and raped his young wife, driving her mad. The musical was based on Christopher Bond's 1970 play Sweeney Todd, which introduced a psychological backstory and motivation to Todd's crimes. By the 1870s, Sweeney Todd was a familiar character to most Victorians. An expanded edition appeared in 1850, an American version in 1852, a new play in 1865. The murderous barber's story was turned into a play before the ending had even been revealed in print. Set in 1785, the story featured as its principal villain a certain Sweeney Todd and included all the plot elements used in later versions. A story called The String of Pearls was published in a weekly magazine during the winter of 1846–47. The character Sweeney Todd originated in serialized Victorian popular fiction, known as penny dreadfuls. There is also a woman wearing a blood-stained dress and holding a rolling pin next to the man. The original logo for the musical is a modified version of an advertising image from the 19th century, with the sign replaced by a straight razor. It has been revived in many productions as well as inspiring a film adaptation. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled The String of Pearls. It is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (often referred to simply as Sweeney Todd) is a 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler.

2012 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.1994 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.

Free Fall by Joyce Sweeney