Murder on stage is the first and most theatrical moment known to the theater. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, takes this effect to a whole other level. Sweeney Todd is a dark opera that follows the demise of a man through his struggle for revenge, and his quest to reunite with his family. This thesis will cover, from start to finish, the entire scenic design process of Temple University's 2010 production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. / Theater

Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 award-winning musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was produced during a time of great political and economic uncertainty in New York City. Although not overtly political, the themes of urban crisis and class inequality that birthed the original legend of Sweeney Todd in Industrial Revolution London continued to play a large role within the modern musical, reflecting leftist political concerns at large. The main political argument within the work is the critique of class hierarchies created by capitalism and how the upper classes abuse the lower classes, ie. how Judge Turpin uses his power to abuse Sweeney Todd and the grave consequences of such actions. Less obvious, however, are the importance of gender hierarchy and the objectification of women within this anti-capitalist critique. This paper focuses on the character of Johanna and the three songs sung about her by the three main male leads. These songs provide a case study of how gendered objectification and commodification play a significant role in the overall Marxist critique intrinsic to the musical and the Sweeney Todd legend overall. The work’s rootedness in the anti-capitalist critique of the New Left in the 1970s and the concurrent rise of Marxist and socialist feminism provide clues to understanding the context and meaning behind the violent treatment of women within the musical as an extension of the anti-capitalist critique that is fundamental to the work. / text

This thesis is a personal journey. My work on VCU’s production of SWEENEY TODD began in the Spring of 2012 when I came on board the production as dramaturg. Part of what is contained within is both an explanation of my dramaturgical research method as well as samples of the research I have compiled. However, my role was drastically changed in the Fall of 2012 when I was cast as the primary antagonist in the production. The thesis chronicles the rehearsal process as my role as dramaturg increasingly gave way to my role as actor. It attempts to answer the question, “Is it possible to be both dramaturg and actor on a single production?” Finally, the thesis is a reflection of the overall process of working on a challenging theatrical production in an academic setting.

In the spring of 2023, Kungliga Operan in Stockholm, Sweden premiered their production of Stephen Sondheim's famous musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This study aims to analyze this production in regards to Mattias Fhyr's definition of the Gothic. It analyzes what gothic signs and themes are recognizable in the Kungliga Operan production of the musical and how they manifest on stage. The study applies the qualitative method of performance analysis, which uses a combination of semiotics and hermeneutics to analyze live performances. Semiotics is also used as the theoretical foundation of this essay. Fhyr's definition specifies that a gothic text depicts subjective worlds, that lack higher order and is characterized by an atmosphere of decay, destruction, and irresolvability, and that it contains labyrinthine qualities. Earlier research also shows that the Gothic can be found in almost all media, including theater. This study illustrates how this performance of Sweeney Todd contains and expresses the above mentioned themes. It also discusses the gothic genre's relationship with opera and comedy and how they are relevant in the performance. It explores the characters monstrous depictions, and examines different familial relations and themes in the musical, characteristic of the gothic genre. The study concludes that the Gothic can be found in the musical's set design and fictional locations, in the mood and atmosphere mostly created by the score, in the characters and their actions, as well as in the story itself.