Anyone notice on the Sweeney Todd OBC...

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:03pm

When I heard "No Place Like London" from the original 1979 cast on XM Radio, even I found something very, very unusual. The beggar woman said "Wouldn't you like to push me CRUMPET" instead of PARSLEY, and as well as "Then 'ow would you like to FISH ME SQUIFF, mister, we'll go jig-jig..." instead of SPLIT ME MUFF which we're all familiar with. I was thinking, could that be SO rude and offensive that they decided to write it out entirely, or is it crazy enough to even exist at all?

I looked on UrbanDictionary: "Fish me squiff" was nowhere to be found. Maybe when Stephen Sondheim wrote it, he had no idea of the cockney-British vernacular at the time.

Until I find a conclusive head on this, you be the judge. Was "fish me squiff" politically incorrect or gramatically incorrect?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:22pm

Well, I imagine it's possible that they changed the lyrics as to not offend anyone, but I think that the more likely situation is that the lyrics were altered later on down the road, as were a couple other things (evidently). For example, I believe (although I could be mistaken) that in Epiphany the lyric "They all deserve to die/Even you Mrs. Lovett, even I" was originally just a repeat of the previous lyric "They all deserve to die/Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why", but it was changed presumably so Sweeney wouldn't be saying the same thing twice.

Also, has anyone ever noticed that in some versions during A Little Priest the actor playing Sweeney says "Ah, these are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett, and desperate measures are called for," and in others he says "...and desperate measures must be taken"? Which is it? I could walk into the other room and look at my Sweeney score, but that would be giving into the sad fact that I've not only noticed this, but that I actually care.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 2:11am

Sondheim changed some of the Beggar Woman's lyrics to reflect authentic Cockney sexual slang.

Cariou always said " . . . desperate measures must be taken," and perhaps Hearn said it too (I can't remember and don't feel like checking), but it's not in the original published script or the acting edition from MTI and I don't think it's in the score.

Many changes have been made in both lines and lyrics over the years. Some were first done later in the Brodway run (adding Sweeney's first "Johanna" to the second-act "Johanna"), some were first done in the first London production, some were first done in the national tour, and some in later productions. Some have found their ways into some published versions of the script, some have not. To try to do a complete list of the variants would take a long time.

The oddest was probably when Sondheim had the chorus sing "Like a fuc*ing machine 'e planned" in one major production. (I think it was the National Theatre production, though it wasn't in the BBC broadcast of the production.)

Another really odd one, heard only (as far as I know) in the first London production, was Sweeney singing "I want blood" rather than "I will have you" in "Epiphany."

One that I like is the Beggar Woman saying "One of them pies that give the sh*ts to half the neighborhood" in that National Theatre production. I don't think it's any published version.

Another is Lovett saying at the end of the first act " . . . but we have something I think you might fancy even better" rather than " . . . but would you settle for the next best thing?" That is in the acting edition and I think in the score.

But there have been many changes, in both lines and lyrics.
Updated On: 9/27/06 at 02:11 AM

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 10:33am

"Sondheim changed some of the Beggar Woman's lyrics to reflect authentic Cockney sexual slang."

Wowser. I knew it. Maybe "fish me squiff" DID sound wrong. Maybe it WAS the vernacular. And thanks for clearing me up on those lyrics. I HAD NO IDEA THEY EXISTED.

And by the way, in some productions, during the song "A Little Priest," Butler-Subtler comes BEFORE Potter-Hotter, THEN Locksmith. In some scripts, it was Potter-Hotter, Butler-Subtler, Locksmith. I did a recent production this summer at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts (my camp), and one of the assistant directors said "Potter, Hotter, LOCKSMITH. That's the joke. The locksmith works with hot materials and stuff..." I NEVER REALIZED THAT.

And by the way, in subsequent productions of SWEENEY TODD, people always used the Beggar Woman's haunting Lullaby "Mmmmm... and why should you weep then, my Jo, my Jing?", but apparently the person who was oblivious of that frequent inclusion was our director. He was very assertive and active in the direction, and he thought some people use it. I tried to explain it to him, but we were already 3 weeks into the main production, and it was too late to even rehearse it. I wasn't even musical directing that one. I was so busy with BatBoy at theh time.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 10:44am

I've done the show and in the conductor's score there are alternative lyrics so it's basically up to the director.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 11:06am

Sweeney still says "sh*t" on the recording, so I'm sure it had nothing to do with offensive language.

[cooperross]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 2:59pm

'The oddest was probably when Sondheim had the chorus sing "Like a fuc*ing machine 'e planned" in one major production. (I think it was the National Theatre production, though it wasn't in the BBC broadcast of the production.)'

The only broadcast on BBC of 'Sweeney' was the US tour version w/Lansbury and Hearn. Perhaps it aired on Channel 4, but it never aired on the BBC.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 3:14pm

"Sh!t" is far less offensive, grotesque, and explicit than splitting someone's "muff," no?

[keatonbynumbers]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 3:34pm

"Potter, Hotter, LOCKSMITH. That's the joke. The locksmith works with hot materials and stuff..." I NEVER REALIZED THAT.

... Huh, really? I've always preferred it to be potter/hotter, then butler/subtler, because butler is harder to rhyme. But because a locksmith works with hot stuff? That's... ah, sort of weird!

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 6:10pm

don't forget
"and who says the week is out it's only Friday/Tuesday"

[Jon]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 6:20pm

The "desperate times" line is a paraphrase of a famous quote from Lord Horatio Nelson. The original, I believe, is "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 7:05pm

cooperross--

I *think* that the original London production with Denis Quilley was aired on British television, but I may be mistaken.

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 7:07pm

"Split me muff" to my mind is a little clearer in its meaning than "fish me squiff." Personally, I think the Beggar Woman should have said:

"Me so horny, me love you long time." But I guess that wouldn't scan.



Mei Li
San Francisco, CA

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 9/27/06 at 7:19pm

The BBC did a series of radio broadcasts of musicals, including a broadcast of the National Theatre Sweeney Todd, after Denis Quilley had taken over as Sweeney. There were some adaptations of the text to make it work as a radio play.

Ken Mandelbaum discusses the series of broadcasts here:

http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=35545&pn=3

The original London production was not telecast but there was a South Bank Show on it that included a great deal of performance footage, which Mandelbaum has also written about, here:

http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=523654

Also, there were radio broadcasts of a concert version of the Opera North production, with Steven Page and Beverly Klein, and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden production, with Thomas Allen and Felicity Palmer.


Updated On: 9/27/06 at 07:19 PM