3.7 Sweeney Todd! (with Arwen Myers!)

The Gospel of Musical Theatre

Sort of-guest Arwen Myers—soprano, Sweeney stan, and executive producer of this podcast—joins Peter and Nathan for a wide-reaching conversation about her favorite musical... which just happens to be about murder and meat pies (and Victor Garber).

That's right: it's the 1979 Tony-Award winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!

We talk about:

- The medieval chant Dies Irae and how it frames Sweeney Todd as a story about death, violence, and revenge with explicitly religious overtones.

– Who’s the real villain of Sweeney Todd? We talk about how none of these characters are who they appear to be, and how the music helps to signal what’s going on underneath.

– The various versions of Christianity that haunt this show, notions of sacred violence, sin & sacrifice, and the redemptive promise—or false lure?—of blood.

– The social and cultural aspects of the world that’s being presented – and we make of the warning embedded in this very dark musical. Is Sweeney "out there..." or is he inside each of us?

– Is this show actually about Victor Garber?

You’ll hear:

• Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, Ken Jennings, Victor Garber, and Edmund Lyndeck on the Original Broadway Cast Recording singing "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," "A Little Priest," "Johanna," "The Worst Pies in London," "Epiphany," and "Not While I’m Around."

Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow the Gospel of Musical Theatre on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt.