Thumbs Down for Sweeney Todd

My two younger sisters and I take a trip together every year, usually in early September when there are fewer tourists to contend with and the weather is still pleasant. This year we went to New York City. Since I had lived and worked there when I was in my 30’s and 40’s, I was charged with organizing our activities.

We were in Manhattan only five full days plus two half-days. All three of us wanted to see a Broadway show, and, in fact, we saw two. One was A Beautiful Noise, the story of Neil Diamond’s life, told through the songs he wrote. We loved every nostalgic minute.

The decision to buy tickets for a second show happened when we learned Josh Groban was the lead actor/singer in a revival of Sweeney Todd. I hadn’t made the effort to see this show in the past, either on Broadway or on tour. Somehow, watching a barber kill his patients just didn’t sound like a fun way to spend an evening. This September, however, I thought the opportunity to hear Josh Groban sing was worth the price of a ticket. Josh Groban definitely met my expectations. So did my negative presumptions about the musical’s plot.

After watching Sweeney Todd, I figured the story had to be an adaptation. I couldn’t imagine a noted songwriter like Steven Sondheim deciding one day to write a musical about a barber who killed his patients and turned them into mince meat pies. When I returned home, I looked up Sweeney Todd, and, according to Wikipedia, I was correct. The musical’s grim story first appeared as a piece of pulp fiction titled “String of Pearls.” The story was serialized by The People's Periodical and Family Library in London in 1846, 1847. There is some evidence “The mad barber of Fleet Street” was a real person.

I have a feeling Sondheim, who wrote lyrics for West Side Story, Gypsy and 16 other musicals was the main draw before Josh Groban accepted the lead role. But, for me, the music in Sweeney Todd was totally unforgettable. There was no “I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” no “Send in the Clowns.” I did not leave the performance with a single line from a single song playing in my brain.