Little Priest. Act II Mrs. Lovett's distinctive pies are the talk of Fleet Street. God, That's Good, belch the patrons of her thriving new ale garden. With such a harmonious business partnership, Mrs. Lovett is keen to put relations with Mr. Todd on a more intimate footing and hints flirtatiously how happy they'd he down By the Sea. But Todd's mind has been twisted by hate and he thinks only of Judge Turpin and Johanna, now incarcerated in a madhouse. Mrs. Lovett's new help, Tobias, is fearful of Todd, but no-one will harm her, he promises, Not While I'm Around. Suspicious that he suspects something, she locks him in the bake-house. Upstairs, Beadle Bamford has arrived and is playing Parlour Songs on the harmonium. He has come because there have been complaints about an unpleasant smell from the bake-house, and he'd like to take a closer look - which Todd arranges by slitting his throat. The smoke from the chimneys has also drawn the attention of the crazy beggar woman, who shrieks her warning of City on Fire as Todd's scheme races to its conclusion: Johanna is rescued by Anthony, the Judge joins the Beadle in the furnace, as does the foolish madwoman. Only then does Todd recognise her: his wife, his beloved Lucy, the one person in the world his poisoned heart still loved. And, because Mrs. Lovett lied and made him think Lucy was dead, he has killed her. He takes his twittering landlady in his arms, they dance and he flings her in the furnace before he, in turn, is killed by Tobias. When Johanna, Anthony and the police arrive, the boy is grinding the mincer: the gruesome finale to The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. CHARACTERS • SWEENEY TODD - Morose and brooding, a barber by profession, newly arrived in London after 15 years' unjust incarceration in a penal colony. • MRS. LOVETT - A cheery, chatty but wholly amoral shopkeeper whose premises and pies are coated in dust and plagued by flies. She would like to be more than merely a landlady to Mr. Todd. • ANTHONY HOPE - A young man, befriended by Todd on the voyage home. • JOHANNA - A beautiful girl, Todd's daughter but now claimed by Judge Turpin as his own. • JUDGE TURPIN - A corrupt and depraved official, an upholder of justice who twists the system to serve his own ends. • BEADLE BAMFORD - Turpin's accomplice in his crimes. • BEGGAR WOMAN - A mad old crone with a filthy tongue, whose cries go unheeded. • PIRELLI - An Italian barber, though of unauthenticated provenance. • TOBIAS RAGG - A simple, kind-hearted lad. He works first for Pirelli, then for Mrs. Lovett, but never trusts Todd. • JONAS FOGG, CITIZENS, CUSTOMERS etc. MUSICAL NUMBERS The Ballad of Sweeney Todd - Todd, Company No Place Like London - Anthony, Todd, Beggar Woman The Worst Pies in London - Mrs Lovett Poor Thing - Mrs Lovett My Friends - Todd, Mrs Lovett Green Finch and Linnet Bird - Johanna Ah, Miss - Anthony, Johanna, Beggar Woman Johanna - Anthony Pirelli's Miracle Elixir - Tobias, Crowd, Todd, Mrs. Lovett 9a: Pirelli's Entrance - Pirelli The Contest (Part I) - Pirelli 10a: The Contest (Part II) - Pirelli, Tobias
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