# The True Story of Sweeny Todd...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500 "2003-04-04T17:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DeviantKat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ea924/32.png) [@DeviantKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeviantKat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/1 "2003-04-04T17:39:02Z")
The demon barber of Fleet Street … It’s a little known Broadway musical that Jessica Lansbury played an amazing role early in her career. Its a story of a man who returns from a long tenure in prison to wreak his revenge on the men who framed him for the murder of his wife and stole his young daughter to be raised surrounded in lies. His revenge came in the form of becoming a barber in London and when he lured in the conspiritors, slit their throats and disposed of the body with the help of Lansbury’s character by making them into the best mince meat pies in London. I personally found it an enchanting story, but is any of it real? I’ve heard a lot of conflicting opinions amongst friends and other affectionados of the tale. Can anyone here give me the Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/2 "2003-04-04T18:54:52Z")
I can’t do that, but I can give you more opinions, [here](http://www.pbs.org/kqed/demonbarber/). ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/3 "2003-04-04T19:30:43Z")
I think there was something about it on “The Smoking [Gun.Com](http://Gun.Com)”. That tip come from the liner notes on a copy I have starring Rita Lupino (I also have the Jessica Lansbury copy- audio only). My five year old has been singing “A Little Priest” for a year now. I hope we don’t get in trouble somehow for it! ---
**Author:** ![Gelaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Gelaan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gelaan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/4 "2003-04-04T20:18:12Z")
Sweeney Todd (that’s the correct spelling note the “e” as the penultimate letter in “Sweeney”) the musical is based on an earlier play (by Christopher Bond). I’m not sure that it’s exactly “little-known”, but I suppose it’s not a household word like _Cats_ or _Les Mis_, though. Steven Sondheim wrote the music for it, and it’s my understanding that the basis for the story is a Victorian tale that is 100% fictional. Steven Sondheim’s website, however, says > [@](#): > > Based on Christopher Bond’s retelling of the Victorian pennydreadful The String of Pearls, (which was itself a retelling of a British myth, posibly rooted in truth) [http://www.sondheim.com/shows/sweeney\_todd/](http://www.sondheim.com/shows/sweeney_todd/) So - that’s the straightest dope I can provide. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/5 "2003-04-04T21:32:08Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not sure that it’s exactly “little-known”, but I suppose it’s not a household word like Cats or Les Mis, though. Ironically, _Cats_ always makes me think of Ms. Lansbury’s signature tune from _Sweeney Todd_- “Don’t you know that it’s the worst play in London?” Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Basandre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@Basandre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Basandre)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/6 "2003-04-04T21:42:28Z")
Here’s the link to the Crime Library report on it. They claim it that the musical was a dramatization of a true story. [http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial\_killers/weird/todd/index\_1.html](http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/todd/index_1.html) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/7 "2003-04-04T23:24:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeviantKat \* > It’s a little known Broadway musical that Jessica Lansbury played an amazing role early in her career. **Angela** Lansbury’s movie career goes back to 1944, with a major role in the 1948 film “State of the Union”. Doing this musical circa 1980 hardly qualifies as “early in her career”. The musical may be little known now, but in the 80s it was broadcast on PBS and rerun many times. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/8 "2003-04-05T00:06:14Z")
[A previous thread on the subject](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=132117&highlight=todd). Possibly damn near definitive, actually. ---
**Author:** ![DeviantKat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ea924/32.png) [@DeviantKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeviantKat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-sweeny-todd/166500/9 "2003-04-05T01:56:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rowrrbazzle \* > \*\ ***Angela** Lansbury’s movie career goes back to 1944, with a major role in the 1948 film “State of the Union”. Doing this musical circa 1980 hardly qualifies as “early in her career”. > > The musical may be little known now, but in the 80s it was broadcast on PBS and rerun many times. \*\* Pardon me, Angela Lansbury… and the reason I said it was early in her career is because she looked so very young in the musical. My mistake.