If one were to compare the stage version of Sweeney Todd to the newer movie directed by Tim Burton, we could be here all day. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was an original work that was turned into a stage play and recorded in 1982. It takes place in 1846, a.k.a. Dickensian England. While the soundtrack has a different cast than the DVD of it that I saw, the one thing people remember from it is Angela Lansbury. The very minute she appears in her pie shop, the audience goes wild. Unlike the movie, the stage play didn't use any child actors. If I were to keep some sort of score like the Nostalgia Critic, the point here would go to the newer movie because the kids could both act and sing better than the adults playing the same parts onstage.
Speaking of singing, the different men who have played Sweeney Todd on stage were not bad at it, but Johnny Depp was amazing for it supposedly being his first time doing it seriously. Being a Tim Burton film, Depp's Todd was darker than usual. Being that the subject matter is already dark, you may be wondering how this could be. Well, the stage play was more of a vaudeville-style comedy, especially the number "A Little Priest," which went on far longer than it did in the movie version (okay, so the soundtrack was also longer than the play itself, but that's also a matter of editing, and I'm glad they did). Stage Todd was a bit warmer and friendlier, shaking hands with Anthony before parting ways in the beginning and acting interested in Mrs. Lovett's "By the Sea" fantasy until he realizes halfway through that it was a mistake to indulge her. Depp's Todd is pretty much deadpan and cold in these situations. Again, this speaks to the overall tone of each production.
One difference that works out in favor of the stage play is the theme music that plays throughout - in the play it actually has words to it sung by a chorus of the actors at different points of the movie as a sort of narration. It would have become tedious in the movie, but on stage it was very catchy and kept you in the loop. The only bad thing I could say about it is that it did not paint Todd as the sympathetic character that he is as presented in the movie when they include a flashback scene where Benjamin Barker is beaten by police and taken away from his wife and daughter just because Judge Turpin wants them. Another difference is that upon realizing what had happened, stage Todd screams out his lines as one would in real life, while Depp sadly croons them out. The point would go to Depp, if just for making the transition to tricking Mrs. Lovett into a false sense of security less of a mood whiplash moment.
Finally, there are the sets and stunts. On stage, everything is moving. In the movie, the backgrounds are mostly green screen. Due to the graphic nature of the play's content, copious amounts of fake blood are necessary. On stage this is achieved through the use of simple prop knives that release fake blood when you squeeze the handle. In the movie, tubing was hidden beneath stage makeup that when cut by the prop razor allowed the person on the other end to pump the fake blood through, resulting in a much gorier mess. If you think that's gross, the stage play was just as cruel to prop animals. A fake bird had its neck snapped, and it was mentioned by the street merchant selling them that they were blinded so to sing perpetually. So the birds in Johanna's song actually existed...at least for that one scene.
One is just as good as the other, so if you're curious, pick up whichever one you can find.
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