Sweeney Todd :: essays research papers

Sweeney Todd is by no means a customary musical it takes several forms ofmusic and theater and artfully places them together. Sondheim very effectivelytransports the audience back to Victorian England for a mad waltz with murder,mayhem...and philia pies. He also utilizes his skill as a choral composer to salvesome truly fascinating ensemble pieces accompanied by a very intricate plot withmany elements c atomic number 18fully layered. There are several important thematic elements in this carefully written explanation on our society, and Sondheim sort outs good use of his music to accentnot and the melodramatic plot, plainly these themes as well. For prototype, the songKiss Me becomes an anthem for Anthony and Johanna and a symbol of their truelove....they loved when they did not even know distributively others names. Sweeney Toddmay be a dark musical, but its construction lends well to light voices and an equallylight orchestral style. Plot-wise, this plant is rather light, the characters seemcartoonish and one-dimensional, especially Mrs. Lovett, Anthony, and Johanna,who appear to be little more than than melodramatic character roles. Ironically, Mrs.Lovett, the absolute capitalist, is one of the shows to the highest degree complex characters. Mrs.Lovett is not merely some amoral witch out to make a fast dollar, she is a characterdriven by voraciousness and love to keep Sweeney however she can. In conclusion, the play gives an excellent example of captive innocence, andthe loss of innocence that immediately follows. Sweeney is driven to murder, Mrs.Lovett bakes these people into pies, Johanna kills, Lucy is labored to become aBeggar and a whore, and nearly every major(ip) character experiences their own fall