EASY Sweeney Todd Question
EASY Sweeney Todd Question
#1EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 3:19pm
I have been working on my thesis for almost three days straight...so now I am failing to come up with an example of "depression" in Sweeney Todd (preferably a particular moment, statement, anything) can someone throw an idea my way?
By the way...I was in this show....so I know I should know this and am EXTRAORDINARILY THANKFUL to anyone who happens to answer
When someone blunders, we say that he makes a misstep. Is it then not clear that all the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill our history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill in dancing. - Moliere
rorschach37
Broadway Star Joined: 4/3/10
#2EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 3:31pmWell Lucy Barker was depressed after Benjamin (Sweeney) was sent away, and that depression increased ten-fold after she was raped by Judge Turpin, which led to her attempted suicide that made her crazy.
#2EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 3:41pmYAY thank you :)
When someone blunders, we say that he makes a misstep. Is it then not clear that all the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill our history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill in dancing. - Moliere
#3EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 4:14pmI think it's fair to say that in addition to his other psychological problems, Sweeney suffers from major depressive disorder. One could make the case that "The Barber and His Wife" is as much about how alone in the world he feels as much as it is about how much he hates it. The lyric "I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders, for the cruelty of men is as wondrous as Peru" very much speaks to that, as does the line, "My mind is far from easy, for in these once familiar streets I feel the chill of ghostly shadows everywhere."
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#4EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 4:27pmYou could easily make the case for Johanna being depressed as well: she is practically kept prisoner and has no future to look forward to. This all leads to how incredibly easily she falls in love with Anthony.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#5EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 4:47pm
Read the libretto, watch the movie or the film of the original production, or one of the thousands of bootlegs on YouTube. What the hell happened to doing research for yourself? Why can't you find the line (or moment or implication) yourself? I assume you have eyes, and you can read. I'm sorry, and I know I'm going to get slammed for being "mean" or whatever, but plenty of us have written theses and didn't constantly rely on other people to do the legwork for us. It's a long, grueling, ultimately rewarding process, and I've been quiet up until now while others have spoken up with similar sentiment -- but at the risk of sounding like a bitch, I find it both angering and frustrating that you seem to be refusing to look for things on your own. And no, posting on a message board and asking for it isn't "looking." Engage with the text. Rule number one of writing about anything like this.
Surely somebody will provide you with an answer and you won't end up having to do any work for yourself, but after seeing you post here about paper after paper after paper and now about your THESIS, I had to voice my opinion.
#6EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 5:37pmDoesn't matter, emcee, she got her answers from enabling posters already. She won't be back until next semester.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#7EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 5:56pmMaybe I would be better-liked if I decided to write it for her.
Rossann
Swing Joined: 1/27/10
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#10EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 6:59pmGood grief, who in that musical *isnt* depressed?
http://docandraider.com
#11EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 7:25pmBe sure to cite this thread appropriately!
And no one grew into anything new, we just became the worst of what we were."
#12EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/19/10 at 7:48pmThis thread is an example of depression on the Broadway board...
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#13EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 12:13am
Sweeney may not have Major Depressive Disorder--he could be suffering from Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood. I would argue that his stressor is still present, plus he gets a new one when he finds out about Lucy and Johanna.
Also, I'm not sure he meets criteria for a major depressive episode. We would need to know more information about his sleeping and eating habits, energy levels, etc.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#14EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 2:58amBut what about the show curtain?!
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#15EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 5:19am
I just post-stalked the OP...and I have to agree: Do you EVER do you own research? Or come up with your own ideas, or even trust your own opinions??
I admit, I seldom remember one poster from the next (unless they are regulars) but I will most defintely remember this one. And while there will always be folks that innocently help her along (or don't think there is anything wrong with her not actually doing her own work) she won't be getting it from me anymore.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#16EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 7:09am
Let's not be too ruthless on the OP. The entire Net is one big enabler when it comes to research. If you dont ask in fora like this, you go to Wikipedia or Google. ::shrug:: Little difference between that and looking things up in a... what did they call them? Oh right, library.
Still, to have been working this long on your thesis and not know this rather basic fact about SWEENEY? Sloppy. It's like having a 65 million dollar musical with no clue how to end it. 
http://docandraider.com
#17EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 7:15amThe thing is you're not going to get an answer spoon fed to you by wikipedia. There is a lot of difference between shamelessly, blatantly asking for the answer - and researching.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#18EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 11:34am
I was curious and post-stalked as well. Jebus, the OP didn't even know that there is a ballet in Carousel?
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
#19EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 11:47am
I suppose what should concern me more than anything else is that this is for a thesis.
Oddly, I'm not.
http://docandraider.com
#20EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/20/10 at 12:03pm
The entire Net is one big enabler when it comes to research. If you dont ask in fora like this, you go to Wikipedia or Google.
No, if she used Wikipedia or Google, she would still have to actually read the whole [illegal] libretto to find an example herself, instead of having specific examples handed to her on a silver platter.
dramamama, what's changed since I posted the same thing last week? Popular opinion?
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#21EASY Sweeney Todd Question
Posted: 12/21/10 at 5:50am
I suppose popular opinion made me look into it more. As I stated, since I seldom remember an infrequent poster, I didn't realize it was a pattern. THAT has been now made obvious.
But, it really shouldn't have mattered since the op stated it was for a paper.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
