We welcome back Sondheim scholar Rick Pender, who talks about his new book, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: Behind the Bloody Musical Masterpiece. Here’s a brief description from the publisher’s website:
An award-winning Sondheim expert dives into all facets of this unique, murder-filled masterpiece-its slimy roots, original production, characters from killers to lovers to bakers, soaring score, gripping storytelling, and lasting power.
FROM AMAZON.COM
This bloody tale is often considered one of the greatest musicals of all time. Rick Pender provides a kaleidoscopic view and interweaves a wealth of archival materials and insights, starting with the show’s 19th-century gruesome literary origins and Christopher Bond’s 1970 stage adaptation that inspired Sondheim to transform it into a Broadway musical. Pender extensively explores the show’s development and its Tony Award-winning original 1979 production, focusing on Sondheim’s majestic score and the show’s masterfully written and intricately plotted book by Hugh Wheeler. Also profiled are members of the all-star creative team led by director Hal Prince as well as legendary orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, renowned musical director Paul Gemignani, and the original cast, including Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury, Victor Garber, Sarah Rice, Edmund Lyndeck, Ken Jennings, and Merle Louise.
The book surveys major, subsequent productions by theater and opera companies, as well as Tim Burton’s dark 2007 cinematic adaptation featuring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter. Critical assessments of the original production and numerous adaptations are shared, including John Doyle’s 2005 Tony Award-winning actor/musician production and the 2023 revival starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. The book ends with a look at the musical’s cultural impacts and legacy. Rick Pender provides riveting exploration of Sweeney Todd will please fans of musical theatre, Sondheim enthusiasts, and those who gravitate to horror stories.
ABOUT RICK PENDER
Rick Pender grew up near Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. He fell in love with theater as a teenager in the 1960s: His first LP was the soundtrack of the motion picture of “West Side Story” with lyrics by 26-year-old Stephen Sondheim. In 1980 he moved to Cincinnati and a few years later he began to write about local theater. When CityBeat, the city’s alternative newsweekly, was launched in 1994 he became a regular contributor; in 1998 became joined the paper’s editorial team as its arts and culture editor. In 1997 he began to provide freelance features and reviews for The Sondheim Review, a quarterly magazine. He became its part-time assistant editor in 2002, and from 2004 to 2016 he was The Sondheim Review’s managing editor. In 2017 he launched a website, EverythingSondheim.org (now hosted by Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia). In 2002 and again in 2017 the Society of Professional Journalists named him Ohio’s best arts critic. For many years Rick conducted arts interviews for National Public Radio’s Cincinnati affiliate WVXU-FM, including several in-studio conversations with Stephen Sondheim. A longtime member of the American Theater Critics Association, he mentored young critics at regional seminars in Connecticut, Salt Lake City, Austin, and Seattle. He was ATCA’s chair in 2004-2005. A longtime communications and public relations professional, he was named to the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of American in 1996. Rick is an honors graduate of Oberlin College and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in English literature from Case Western Reserve University.
Find out more at rickpenderwrites.com.
Publisher’s Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/stephen-sondheims-sweeney-todd-9781538196441/
On Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Sondheims-Sweeney-Todd-Masterpiece-ebook/dp/B0FNX3NCFG
The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia is a wonderfully detailed and comprehensive reference devoted to musical theater’s most prolific and admired composer and lyricist. Entries cover Sondheim’s numerous collaborators—from composers and directors to designers and orchestras—key songs—such as his Academy Award winner “Sooner or Later” (Dick Tracy)—and major works—including Assassins, Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, and West Side Story. The encyclopedia also contains information about Sondheim’s mentoring by Oscar Hammerstein II and his early collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, and profiles the actors who originated roles and sang Sondheim’s songs for the first time, including Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, and Bernadette Peters.
Featuring a detailed biographical entry for Sondheim, a chronology of his career, a listing of his many awards, and discussions of his opinions on movies, opera, and more, this comprehensive resource will attract musical theater enthusiasts again and again.
The Hardcover and Kindle editions are both available for purchase through Amazon.com.
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