Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The scene transitions to the docks of 19th-century London. A young, cheerful sailor named Anthony Hope disembarks from a ship, full of awe for the city before him (“No Place Like London”). He believes that the world’s natural wonders do not compare to the splendor of London, which feels like home to him. Sweeney Todd echoes Anthony’s sentiment, though his voice has an undertone of cynicism. Todd, who is described as a brooding, heavy-set man, observes that Anthony is still young and that he will come to understand Todd’s cynicism.

Anthony, while serving as first mate on the Bountiful, saved Todd’s life when he spotted him adrift on a shipwreck at sea. Todd thanks Anthony for the favor, but Anthony says that he was simply acting as any good Christian would. A beggar woman walks up to Anthony and Todd, asking for alms. Anthony gives her a coin, earning her thanks. The woman suddenly changes her tone, offering to perform sex work for him. Anthony is embarrassed, so the woman turns to Todd and reverts to her sympathetic voice, asking for alms. The woman thinks she recognizes Todd and offers him sex work, so Todd angrily sends her away.

Anthony urges Todd to be more considerate of people like the woman. Todd apologizes, indicating that he is uneasy after returning to London. Before they part ways, Anthony expresses that he values his friendship with Todd and offers to help him financially. Todd refuses his offer and goes on to explain that he sees London as the center of the world’s moral rot. In London, a privileged few benefit from the exploitation of the lower classes, turning the latter into animals to indulge their greed and desire for entertainment. Todd slips into a trance, remembering a barber who was married to a beautiful and virtuous woman (“The Barber and His Wife”). The barber, on the other hand, was foolish and naive, which left him open to the exploitation of a “pious vulture of the law” (10). The lawman swiftly separated the barber from his wife. The wife’s grief doomed her to fall, though Todd admits that he does not know whether the wife succumbed to the lawman’s whims.

Todd tells Anthony that he may find him on Fleet Street. Todd proceeds there, affirming his belief in the rot of London. He reaches a two-story building, and on the ground is Mrs. Lovett’s Pie Shop. Upstairs is an empty apartment. Todd hesitantly enters the pie shop, where Mrs. Lovett, the untidy shopkeeper, loudly greets him (“The Worst Pies in London”). Her vigorous manner nearly scares Todd away, but she explains that she thought he was a ghost. She elaborates that her pie shop hasn’t had any customers in a long time and offers to serve him a pie. Her pies are dusty, however, and she scrambles to pick the debris off her pies in front of Todd. Some of the debris are insects, so she smacks them with her hand. She goes on to express her awareness that her business is doing poorly and resigns that it would even be polite to call her pies the worst in London. While rolling out a piece of dough for a new pie, she laments that good meat is too expensive to buy. One of her neighbors, Mrs. Mooney, has a pie shop that is doing well, though Mrs. Lovett suggests that Mrs. Mooney’s business secret is baking the meat of street cats into her pies. Mrs. Lovett claims that she is above doing this, even though she knows it would improve her business. She resigns herself to the hard times she lives in.

Todd wonders why Mrs. Lovett hasn’t rented out the upstairs apartment to boost her income. Mrs. Lovett explains that the apartment is haunted because of a terrible event that happened years ago. The former tenant was a beautiful barber whom Mrs. Lovett admired for his skill (“Poor Thing”). The barber, named Benjamin Barker, was arrested for “foolishness.” His wife was so beautiful that she became desired by a judge and his beadle. They would offer the wife luxurious gifts to entice her to indulge their fantasies, but the wife was too faithful to the barber and their child to accept them. The judge and the beadle had Barker sent away to an Australian prison colony, leaving the wife alone with her baby, Johanna. The beadle and the judge, pretending sympathy for the wife, urged her to visit the judge’s house. When she arrived, the wife saw that the judge was throwing a masquerade ball. She sought out the judge, Turpin, only to find him masked and naked. The beadle and Turpin then raped Barker’s wife at the ball while the other attendees laughed at her for her foolishness.

This provokes an anguished cry from Todd, confirming Mrs. Lovett’s suspicion that he is Barker after all. Todd renounces his identity as Barker and demands to know where his wife, Lucy, is. Mrs. Lovett claims that soon after the rape, Lucy poisoned herself with arsenic. Johanna is now in Judge Turpin’s custody, having grown up as his ward. An angry Todd swears revenge on Turpin and the Beadle. Mrs. Lovett laughs at him, wondering how he’ll exact his revenge when he has no money. She retrieves his razor case, which she kept for him for 15 years. Todd turns reverent at the sight of his razors, calling them his “friends” (“My Friends”). He asks the razors to speak to him and promises that they will do wonders together, spilling “precious rubies.” As Todd reacquaints himself with his friends, Mrs. Lovett falls into a trance, speaking longingly of Todd as her friend. She has always been fond of him and wants to take him into her home. She states that she is satisfied with silver, referring to the handles of Todd’s razors.

Todd declares that his “right arm is complete again” (22). The company reprises Todd’s ballad, urging him to drive his razor into righteousness. They describe Todd as someone who never forgives and forgets, especially when it comes to the behaviors of “civilized” men.

The scene changes to the façade of Judge Turpin’s mansion. A bird seller walks by, drawing the attention of Johanna from the upper floor. Johanna is fascinated by the songs the birds sing, wondering how they manage to find joy in their cages (“Green Finch and Linnet Bird”). She suspects that the birds must be maddened by the sight of the stars from their cages. She wonders if their songs are actually cries for help, hoping that someone will buy them. She also wonders if they are singing because they know they are safe there in their cages. Johanna compares Turpin’s mansion to a cage but says that nothing will sing there, not even her lark. She asks the birds to teach her how to sing since she cannot fly.

Anthony passes by the judge’s mansion and sees the gold-haired Johanna (“Ah, Miss”). He is struck by her beauty and sadness, and he hopes that she will grant him the favor of her glance. Johanna’s gaze briefly falls on him before she returns inside. The beggar woman whom Anthony previously met emerges from a pile of trash, asking for alms. Anthony gives her a coin and asks whose house it is. The beggar woman identifies it as Judge Turpin’s mansion and tells him that Johanna is the judge’s ward. She cautions Anthony against trespassing on the mansion grounds before suddenly leering at him and offering him sex. Anthony gives her more coins to drive her away when she molests him.

Anthony buys one of the birds from the seller. The seller explains that the birds are agitated because they have been blinded. They sing constantly, unaware of the time of day. When Johanna reemerges from her window, Anthony offers her the bird as a gift. She comes down to claim it from him, and Anthony declares his admiration for her. He compares Johanna to a dream and promises to steal her. Just then, Judge Turpin and the Beadle come calling for Johanna. Turpin sees Anthony and urges him not to show his face in the area again. He orders his Beadle to get rid of Anthony, and the Beadle kills Anthony’s gift bird to threaten him. Johanna asserts that she will remain obedient to Turpin. Turpin comforts her but looks at her with lust. When Turpin, the Beadle, and Johanna leave, Anthony affirms his commitment to stay close to Johanna and eventually steal her from the judge’s home (“Johanna”). He destroys his birdcage.

The scene changes to St. Dunstan’s Marketplace, where a caravan advertises the services of Signor Adolfo Pirelli, an Italian barber. Todd plans to upstage Pirelli to draw the attention of upmarket clientele to his barbershop. Mrs. Lovett points out that the Beadle is patrolling the marketplace. Todd is pleased, as this aligns with his ultimate goal of revenge.

Pirelli’s assistant is an adolescent named Tobias. He advertises Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir, a potion that he claims cured him of baldness in one month (“Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir”). The market crowd is initially skeptical about the potion, but Tobias convinces them to try it after he demonstrates its application. Todd sabotages Tobias’s advertisement by pointing out the elixir’s rancid smell. He convinces the crowd that the elixir is a mixture of urine and ink, prompting the customers to demand their money back. The crowd becomes so restless that it demands Tobias to bring out Pirelli.

Pirelli is a showy barber who tries to charm the crowd. Todd owns up to his claim that the elixir is made from urine. When Pirelli tries to dismiss Todd by offering his services to the crowd, Todd challenges him to a test of skill. Pirelli accepts the challenge, confident that he will prove himself the better barber. Todd calls the Beadle to officiate the contest, which he immediately accepts. He decides that whoever delivers the fastest and smoothest shave will be the champion.

Pirelli prepares his shaving mixture while telling the crowd about how he once shaved the Pope (“The Contest”). When he sees that Todd is taking his time, Pirelli lathers his customer and tells another story about the time he extracted a tooth from Queen Isabella of Poland. Pirelli sees that Todd has barely started, so he relaxes and performs the shave with elaborate motions. He declares that shaving requires skill and heart to perform well, adding that God blessed him with talent at an early age. As Pirelli continues to declaim, Todd deals a quick series of razor strokes, finishing the shave in seconds. The Beadle declares Todd the winner.

Todd offers to conduct a second test of skill, this time focused on tooth extraction. A crowd member volunteers to participate as Todd’s customer, but no one volunteers to sit for Pirelli. Desperate, Pirelli forces a reluctant Tobias to sit for him. Once again, Todd appears to take his time, giving Pirelli room to speak about the skill required for tooth extraction. Tobias squirms and screams throughout the procedure, making it difficult for Pirelli to complete the extraction. Todd completes his tooth extraction in seconds, and the Beadle once again declares him the winner.

Pirelli defers to Todd, bowing and surrendering the £5 wagered for the contest. He promises that they will meet again and kicks Tobias to drive the caravan away. The crowd marvels at Todd’s skills as a barber, and Mrs. Lovett advertises his parlor on Fleet Street. Though the Beadle faintly recognizes Todd, Todd allays his suspicions with some flattery. The Beadle promises to visit Todd’s parlor, and Todd promises to give him the closest shave he’ll ever have in his life, free of charge.

The company sings another reprise of Todd’s ballad, speaking to the trap that Todd laid out for the Beadle.