Steven Sondheim had dominated the 1970s on Broadway. As the decade closed out, he turned to a modern adaptation of a Victorian melodrama for source material. With Hugh Wheeler, adapting Christopher Bond, 1979’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street is possibly Sondheim’s most world-wide hit. Here is the 2014 New York Philharmonic Concert Performance [2h23m], with Bryn Terfel, Emma Thompason, Philip Quast, and many others.
I hope you’re hungry, we’ve a lot of Sweeney to get through!
The original 1979 production, directed by Hal Prince, featured Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. The Original Broadway Cast Album is available as a YouTube playlist. Also, this audience bootleg of the original cast. [2h24m] The existence of this document is remarkable considering the state of video recording technology in 1979. Also, we have a full audio recording of Opening Night, 1979.
Cariou and Lansbury were replaced by George Hearn and Dorothy Loudon during the original Broadway run. This was documented, again by an audience member, in 1980. [2h33m]
Also in 1980, the Broadway production transferred to the West End, with Dennis Quilley and Shellia Hancock, directed again by Hal Prince. Scenes From The Making Of A Musical 1h24m] is a London Weekend Television documentary that has interviews and performances and stuff from this production. Sondheim gets into his musical development, if you’re into that kind of thing.
The well-known Angela Lansbury/George Hearn filming of the play comes from the First US National Tour, which was filmed in 1982, and is not available for free public viewing. It can be rented or purchased from Amazon or Apple. We do have, however, the Tour Cast Album available [Archive.org link, streaming and downloads links]. Also, here’s an insightful 1981 interview with Hearn and Lansbury and local curmudgeon Elliot Norton [28m] from Boston public or public-access television.
The first Broadway revival was in 1989. We don’t have much record of this, with Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler playing the leads. Here’s a little taste, with (audio only) A Little Priest. Also, here’s a Pandemic-Era-Made-Possible cast and crew video reflection on the show [1h46m] from Jan 2021. With director, producers, stars, and more.
1992 marks the beginning of Sweeney Todd’s further progression around the globe. A Hungarian language production in Budapest premiered. All I have found is this this 2m trailer that is more a look-and-feel sort of video.
1993 saw the first London revival, with Alun Armstrong and Julia McKenzie, and Dennis Quilley (former Todd) as Judge Turpin. Quilley later replaced Armstrong, and this production was broadcast on BBC in 1994 [2h33m, Archive.org link, streaming and download links].
Sweeney’s global expansion continued in 1995 with Barcelona’s production, in Catalan [pro-shot, 2h33m].
Meanwhile, a concert performance was created first by the New York Philharmonic in 2000, and later redone by the San Francisco Symphony in mid-2001. George Hearn and Patti LuPone lead a really great cast, directed by Lonny Price (of Best Worst Thing) in an excellent PBS filming [2h12m]. Also, there is a Bonus Documentary [25m] (I assume from the DVD, sound gets a bit out of sync by the end, but not horrible).
The second London revival was in 2004, with Paul Hegarty and Karen Mann. Directed by John Doyle, the cast all played the instruments for the show (no pit band), and the setting was a mental asylum with patients playing out the story. This production transferred to Broadway in 2005, with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris. Here’s an audience filming of the Broadway production [2h6m]. Here is the same production closed-captioned in Spanish [click the CC button] for those would would appreciate that sort of thing. And the cast album as a YouTube playlist.
[John Doyle has done a lot of these sort of productions. My question is, did LuPone have to learn to play the tube for this, or did she already know how? This is answered when LuPone and Cerveris appear on Theater Talk [25m] for an interesting actorly chat.]
2008 saw the show run in Madrid. The Cast Album is available [Archive.org link, streaming and download links].
A third London revival came in 2012, this time with Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton, set in the 1930s. This production has an interestingly mostly-static audience bootleg [2h24m] as well as a YouTube cast album playlist.
In 2014, Lonnie Price revised his earlier concert staging. Please see the link above the fold.
2014 also saw the staging of a prog metal version of Sweeney [DC Metro]. Here’s Epiphany from that production on SoundCloud. [I want this full cast album SO BAD!]
I mean, Sweeney’s been performed so many ways! There was a production inside a pie shop that got transferred to Off-Broadway where they rebuilt the pie shop in the theater [2m14s]! [Second video, 2m15s]
For goodness’ sake, back in 1979 a Disco Version of The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd was released! (By Thomas Z Shepard, a longtime producer of Sondheim and other Broadway cast albums). B-side: I’ve Got My Eye On You (unreleated to Sweeney Todd, although the bass line is very similar)
Stars In The House did a reunion show with Len Cariou, Victor Garber, Sarah Rice, and Ken Jennings [1h23m] in Oct 2020, all original cast members.
Is that enough Sweeney? Wikipedia lists productions in Finnish and French for which I can find no online record. Productions are mounted around the world by theater and opera houses. I don’t think Sweeney’s time on this planet will end anytime soon.