Users' questions

What does the name Sweeney Todd mean?

What does the name Sweeney Todd mean?

How it was that he came by the name of Sweeney . . . there to look for it: the name is indeed an unusual one. The surname Todd or ‘tod’ [sic], a northern word of unknown origin from Middle English, means, literally, ‘fox’; metaphorically it was used to refer to ‘a person likened to a fox; a crafty person’ (OED).

What is the main theme of Sweeney Todd?

The main themes in this film are revenge and love. The theme of revenge is very obvious in this film. Sweeney himself mentions that all he wants is revenge and for people to suffer the way he has suffered.

What is the musical Sweeney Todd based on?

Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980….Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Sweeney Todd
Music Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics Stephen Sondheim
Book Hugh Wheeler
Basis Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond

Why did Sondheim write Sweeney Todd?

Sondheim was inspired to write his musical after seeing Christopher Bond’s 1973 reimagining of the story. Bond gave Sweeney a backstory and a motive beyond greed for his murderous ways— revenge.

Is the story of Sweeney Todd True?

Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the Victorian penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). Claims that Sweeney Todd was a historical person are strongly disputed by scholars, although possible legendary prototypes exist.

What was Sweeney Todd accused of?

The pair were eventually arrested following rumours surrounding the disappearance of a number of sailors in 1801. Mrs Lovett committed suicide in prison after confessing her part but Todd was tried and convicted for the murder of one seaman, Francis Thornhill.

Why does Sweeney Todd want revenge?

After hard years in exile for a crime he didn’t commit, Benjamin Barker, now Sweeney Todd, returns to London to find his wife dead and his daughter in the hands of the evil Judge Turpin. Todd wants his revenge on the man who has now adopted his daughter and works with Mrs. Lovett on an evil plan.

Is Sweeney Todd revenge?

Revenge is a common driving force in many novels, movies, and in this case, musical. The ideology of Sweeney Todd is pretty simple; Sweeney wants revenge on the Judge who sent him away to an unjust incarceration while the judge took his daughter as a part of the ward.

Is Sweeney Todd a true story?

Is Sweeney Todd all singing?

Oh, yes, sings. Sweeney Todd is an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical, and for all but about 10 minutes of the two-hour movie, the actors express their often disturbing emotions in song.

What did Sweeney Todd go to jail for?

This version of the story was the first to give Todd a more sympathetic motive: he is Benjamin Barker, a wrongfully convicted barber who after 15 years in an Australian penal colony escapes and returns to London under the new name Sweeney Todd, only to find that Judge Turpin, who is responsible for his conviction, has …

Did Judge Turpin do to Lucy?

Lucy Barker was Benjamin Barker’s wife and while he was arrested, she was raped by Judge Turpin, which drove her to attempt suicide by poisoning. After the Judge raped her, he took her daughter, Johanna Barker, as his ward. During the movie, Lucy wanders as a beggar woman.