Châtelet's 'Sweeney Todd' Stays True to Detailed Musical Roots

NYTimes.com: "“Sweeney Todd” is, of course, no ordinary musical. “Dark operetta” and “a movie for the stage” is how Mr. Sondheim has described his 1979 thriller, emphasizing the influence of films with music by Bernard Herrmann and in particular one called “Hanover Square” about a mad composer. The story of a throat-slashing barber and the cannibalistic meat pies his actions facilitate derive not from film noir, however, but a play by Christopher Bond, which in turn is based on a version of the saga serialized in 19th-century London.