History Theatre / SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet

* HeroAntagonist: Tobias Ragg
* HeroicSociopath: Given that he was wrongly imprisoned for more than a decade and has lost his wife and daughter, the audience is encouraged to sympathize with Sweeney Todd. At first.

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: All of the Barkers. Lucy's beauty is what caused the Judge's attraction to her and kickstarted the plot. The same applies to Johanna once she grows older and the Judge sets his sights on her. Meanwhile, Todd may have been able to reunite with Lucy (or at least [[spoiler: not have killed her]]) if he hadn't attracted Mrs. Lovett.

* VictoriasSecretCompartment: Mrs. Lovett [[spoiler:puts Pirelli's purse in hers]]

* GenreBlindness: This one stretches the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief to the point of breaking it. Let's see: What on God's Earth is Judge Turpin thinking when he lets Todd shave him [[spoiler:FOR THE SECOND TIME]]???!!!
-->'''Judge Turpin:''' ''(Thinking)'' Oh, I'm going to let this [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter completely innocent]] and [[LooksLikeCesare sinister barber]] shave me. A barber which, incidentally, lives on the SAME house of Benjamin Barker, the barber that I sent to prison so I could [[MoralEventHorizon rape his wife]] and keep his daughter [[WifeHusbandry to do the same to her when she's 16?]] A barber which keeps making lots of [[PreMortemOneLiner unsettling one-liner]] [[{{Pun}} jokes]] about "the closest shave he's ever gave" or the woman I raped??? A man who seems to be OBSSESSED about shaving me [[spoiler:to the point of asking if I would like to be shaved when I'm in the middle of rescuing my future bride from the hands of a sailor]]?! Totally harmless... [[spoiler:[[TheReveal OH! HE]]]]'''[[spoiler:[[TheReveal IS]]]]''' [[spoiler:[[NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe BENJAMIN BARKER!!!]] OhCrap!]] ''[[spoiler:*slit*]]''
** The possible explanation of this is that [[spoiler:Sweeney said he'd talked to Johanna and that she'd admitted she was wrong and actually ''wanted'' to marry Judge [[AWorldwidePunomenon Turpentine]]]].
*** Turpin didn't realise that [[spoiler:she was being rescued from the asylum as they were talking; he probably assumed that Todd had visited her to try and get her to apologise, and that she was willing to marry Turpin just to get out of the mad house. Because, being honest with you, madhouses that people like her would be sent to aren't going to be very pleasant.]]

The original Broadway production went up in 1979 at the Uris Theatre. It was directed by Harold Prince and starred Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. It has since been the subject of many revivals and concerts, and is widely considered Sondheim's masterpiece, and since the latest revival and release of [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet the Tim Burton film version]], it has become even more popular than ''IntoTheWoods''.

* PaintingTheFourthWall:
** The section in "Epiphany" where Todd turns on (and in some performances, ''leaps into'' and menaces) the audience.
** "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is addressed directly to the audience and contains the following lines:
---> ''What happened then?''
---> ''Well, that's the play,''
---> ''And he wouldn't want us to give it away ...''

** Even the possible explanation of this, that [[spoiler:Sweeney'd said he'd talked to Johanna and that she'd admitted she was wrong and actually ''wanted'' to marry Judge [[AWorldwidePunomenon Turpentine]]]], really strains this troper's WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief.

*** In all the versions This Troper's seen, Johanna is or goes insane, but it's always a "manageable" insane that shouldn't seriously handicap her, much less send her on a [[InsaneEqualsViolent murderous rampage.]]

** This was made even better in the production this troper saw. The first two verses were sung with only the singer illuminated. During the music between the second verse and the above line, the entire stage was dark and the entire cast assembled in ranks. The line starts; cue ''every'' spotlight in the house going on and ScareChord. Truly amazing.

** Which actually helped to further isolate him from the rest of the cast, most of whom either were English or affecting FakeBrit accents.

* GenreBlindness: This one preety stretches the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief to the point of breaking it. Let's see: What on God's Earth is Judge Turpin thinking when he lets Todd shave him [[spoiler:FOR THE SECOND TIME]]???!!!

Well, pity\\

* TheOphelia: Johanna in many productions.

** [[spoiler:The beggar woman's part in the Johanna Quartet, especially the "set it on fire" bit. Guess how Mrs. Lovett dies in the end?]]
*** [[spoiler: The lyric is actually "City on Fire", not "set it on fire".]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms: "[[IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow Me rumpled bedding legitimized...]] the moment I mutter, 'I do,'" sings Mrs. Lovett in "By the Sea."

* GenderFlip: Well, sort of. In the 2005 revival, Pirelli is played by a woman, but as a man.

A woman alone,\\
With limited wind,\\
And the worst pies in London!\\
Ah, sir, times is hard\\
Times is hard.

You differ to her gent-\\

* BreakTheCutie: Toby and Johanna, as well as Todd himself [[spoiler:when his name was still Benjamin Barker]].

* TheIngenue: Johanna.

* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Judge Turpin does this EVERY TIME he meets a beautiful woman!!!

** {{Justified|Trope}} in that it was written as a stage musical. If you are in the back row of a theater, it's hard to tell who's supposed to be attractive and who's supposed to be ugly. Simply having another character state it makes it easier on the costume designers and makeup artists.

** Also in the original story, Tobias is employed from the beginning by Sweeney Todd, and he had only very passing interaction with Mrs. Lovett (specifically, stopping by to buy a pie). Instead of Anthony, we had Mark Ingestrie, and he and Johanna have a more unambiguously happy ending. Most of the characters from the play and movie appear, but many have had their roles, relationships, and so on shuffled around, essentially being recast (or using a very, very AlternateCharacterInterpretation).

* [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Pre-Asskicking]][=/=]PreMortemOneLiner: "BENJAMIN BARKER!!!"