Okay folks... I've preached today but I've not given ya anything fun yet... so here it is.
The show is called "Sweeny Todd"
It's about a barber that was wrongfully accused and sentenced to life imprisonment in Australia (the setting is back when Australia was a prison colony for England). The man had a beautiful wife and daughter but the local constabulary (the judge) took a fancy to his wife and simply had to have her for his own. Well, madness set in on the judge and he decided that brute force was the best means to do his dirty work. He trumped up charges against the barber and sent him away.
Now, with the barber out of the way, he was free to make his move on the barber's wife. But she was so in love with the barber and so unaware of the judge's true plans, that when she did find out she went crazy. At that point, she was no longer the woman the judge coveted so much (imagine that) and so he threw her out on the streets but kept the barber's daughter as his ward.
18 years pass and the barber finally gets away by sneaking aboard a ship and makes his way back home to London. There he finds the city is in crisis. People are very poor, his happy home no longer exists, he learns that his wife killed herself (which she didn't) and that his daughter is the ward of the very judge that put him away. The barber is now incensed and hell-bent for revenge. But how?
He meets a woman (Mrs. Lovett) who owns a pie shop. It's a meat-pie shop and she's not doing well with the meat shortage the way it is. She remembers him and divulges that she know who he is. She always had a crush on him but never made her love for him known. She is not faultless in continuing the charade for she's the one that tells him that his wife is dead (even though she isn't). But she recognizes a good thing when she sees it.
Now... the barber finally decides that he will get his revenge but he must assume a new identity and get a thriving business going before he can exact his revenge. He does this by setting up a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett's shop. He then enters a contest with the best barber in town and beats him. This means great potential for him... but the other barber recognizes him too and threatens to expose him if he doesn't leave. Oh what to do?
Yes... obviously when one's livelihood is threatened, they meet that livelihood head on and do what they must... so Sweeny Todd killed the other barber. At this point, he and Mrs. Lovett are trying to work out what to do. Mr. Todd's business is sure to be booming now that all of the other barbers' clients will need to go somewhere else. But what about the other barber's body? Well it must be disposed of... somehow. That's when Mrs. Lovett gets her sublime idea. Click the video below to see what she comes up with. :)
Are they not, truly, a perfect match for each other? *evil grin* It is truly a FABULOUS musical from beginning to end and I recommend it for anyone and everyone. If it comes to your town, go see it... cuz it's MUCH better live... with props and everything. :)
Peace,
Jenna
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