Sunday Night Sondheim: “Johanna” quartet from Sweeney Todd

Here’s a clip from my favorite Stephen Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd.

Notes from YouTube posting:

This clip is from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 1982 Tour Cast, starring Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett and George Hearn as Sweeney Todd, "Johanna (Quartet)", which is the "Johanna" in this recording. It begins with Anthony (Cris Groenendaal) reprising his "Johanna" from Act I before Sweeney (George Hearn) joins in. He sings a very sweet song about his lost daughter as he slits throat after throat. The contrast between his words and his actions is at once funny and sad.
Out comes the Beggar Woman (Sara Woods), who screeches and shouts about the stink and smoke from Mrs. Lovett’s (Angela Lansbury) chimney. She entreats passers-by to tell the Beadle and the police about the "unholy smell", but is mostly ignored.  Meanwhile, Johanna (Betsy Joslyn) is trapped in Fogg’s Asylum, still singing of her marriage to Anthony.

See all Sweeney Todd recordings and books here.

Tags: Angela Lansbury, Betsy Joslyn, Cris Groenendaal, George Hearn, Sara Woods, Stephen Sondheim, Sunday Night Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sweeney Toddy, YouTube

Category: Stephen Sondheim, Sunday Night Sondheim, YouTube