(Lights dim except for a scalding spot on the razor as music blares forth from both the organ and the orchestra. The company, including the JUDGE and the BEADLE, appears and sings)
COMPANY:
Lift your razor high, Sweeney!
Hear it singing, "Yes!"
Sink it in the rosy skin
Of righteousness!
His voice was soft, his manner mild.
He seldom laughed but he often smiled,
He'd seen how civilized men behave.
He never forgot and he never forgave,
Not Sweeney,
Not Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
(They disappear. There is a moment of darkness in which we hear the trilling and twittering of songbirds. Light comes up on the facade of JUDGE TURPIN's mansion. A bird seller enters carrying a bizarre construction of little wicker birdcages tied together. It is in these that the birds are singing. At an upper level of the JUDGE's mansion appears a very young, exquisitely beautiful girl with a long mane of shining blonde hair. This is JOHANNA. For a moment she stands disconsolate, then her eyes fall on the birds)
JOHANNA: And how are they today?
BIRD SELLER: Hungry as always, Miss Johanna.
(He lifts the cages up to her)
JOHANNA:
Green finch and linnet bird,
Nightingale, blackbird,
How is it you sing?
How can you jubilate,
Sitting in cages,
Never taking wing?
Outside the sky waits,
Beckoning, beckoning,
Just beyond the bars.
How can you remain,
Staring at the rain,
Maddened by the stars?
How is it you sing
Anything?
How is it you sing?
Green finch and linnet bird,
Nightingale, blackbird,
How is it you sing?
Whence comes this melody constantly flowing?
Is it rejoicing or merely halloing?
Are you discussing or fussing
Or simply dreaming?
Are you crowing?
Are you screaming?
Ringdove and robinet,
Is it for wages,
Singing to be sold?
Have you decided it's
Safer in cages,
Singing when you're told?
(ANTHONY enters. Instantly he sees her and stands transfixed by her beauty)
My cage has many rooms,
Damask and dark.
Nothing there sings,
Not even my lark.
Larks never will, you know,
When they're captive.
Teach me to be more adaptive.
Green finch and linnet bird,
Nightingale, blackbird,
Teach me how to sing.
If I cannot fly,
Let me sing.
(She gazes into the middle distance disconsolately)
ANTHONY (Gazing at her, sings softly):
I have sailed the world,
Beheld its wonders,
From the pearls of Spain
To the rubies of Tibet,
But not even in London
Have I seen such a wonder . . .
(Breathlessly)
Lady look at me look at me miss oh
Look at me please oh
Favor me favor me with your glance.
Ah, miss,
What do you what do you see off
There in those trees oh
Won't you give won't you give me a chance?
Who would sail to Spain
For all its wonders,
When in Kearney's Lane
Lies the greatest wonder yet?
Ah, miss,
Look at you look at you pale and
Ivory-skinned oh
Look at you looking so sad so queer.
Promise
Not to retreat to the darkness
Back of your window
Not till you not till you look down here.
Look at
| ANTHONY: Me! Look at Me! Look at me... |
JOHANNA: Green finch and linnet bird, Nightingale, blackbird, Teach me how to sing. If I cannot fly, Let me sing ... |
(ANTHONY turns back to discover JOHANNA gone and the window shut. The BEGGAR WOMAN starts off)
ANTHONY:
One moment, mother. (She turns) Perhaps you know whose house this is?
BEGGAR WOMAN:
That! That's the great Judge Turpin's house, that is.
ANTHONY:
And the young lady who resides there?
BEGGAR WOMAN:
Ah, her! That's Johanna, his pretty little ward. (Slyly confidential) But don't you go trespassing there, young man. Not if you value your hide. (She nods her head) Tamper there and it's a good whipping for you � or any other youth with mischief on his mind.
Hey! Hoy! Sailor boy!
Want it snugly harbored?
Open me gate, but dock it straight,
I see it lists to starboard.
(She grabs at his crotch and starts to dance around him grotesquely, lifting her skirts. ANTHONY is appalled. He pulls coins out of his pocket and tosses them to her)
ANTHONY:
Here and here and here. Take it and off with you. Off.
(The BEGGAR WOMAN, cackling, collects the coins and scampers off. ANTHONY turns back to the house, gazes up at the window. The noise has frightened the birds, who start screeching. ANTHONY becomes aware of them and moves over to the now sleeping bird seller, shakes him awake, and inspects the cages. Music continues under)
Which one sings the sweetest?
BIRD-SELLER:
All's the same, sir. Six pence and cheap at the price.
(ANTHONY selects one, gives the man a coin, holds up the cage)
ANTHONY:
He sings bravely. (Watches the cage) But why does he batter his wings so wildly against the bars?
BIRD-SELLER:
We blind 'em, sir. That's what we always does. Blind 'em and, not knowing night from day, they sing and sing without stopping, pretty creatures. (He gets up, slinging the cages on his back, and starts off) Have pleasure of the bird, sir.
(He exits. JOHANNA reappears at the window. ANTHONY holds up the cage, indicating it is a present and she should come down to get it. She hesitates, smiles, nods, disappears from the window. He waits. Shyly, almost furtively, JOHANNA slips out of the door and stands there. He moves toward her, holding out the cage. Slowly her hand goes out toward him. Their fingers touch)
ANTHONY:
I feel you,
Johanna,
I feel you.
I was half convinced I'd waken,
Satisfied enough to dream you.
Happily I was mistaken,
Johanna!
I'll steal you,
Johanna,
I'll steal you . ..
(They stand so absorbed with each other that they do not notice the approach of JUDGE TURPIN, followed by the BEADLE)
JUDGE (Shouting):
Johanna! Johanna!
JOHANNA:
Oh dear!
(Forgetting the bird cage, JOHANNA scurries toward the house. ANTHONY turns to find the JUDGE glaring at him)
JUDGE:
If I see your face again on this or any other neighbor street, you'll rue the day you were born. Is that plain enough speaking for you?
ANTHONY:
But, sir, I swear to you there was nothing in my heart but the most respectful sentiments of�
JUDGE (To BEADLE):
Dispose of him! (He strides toward the house)
JOHANNA:
Oh dear! I knew!
BEADLE (Fondling the truncheon, to ANTHONY):
You heard His Worship.
ANTHONY:
But, friend, I have no fight with you. (The BEADLE takes the cage from him, opens its door, takes out the bird, wrings its neck and then tosses it away)
BEADLE:
Get the gist of it, friend? Next time it'll be your neck!
(He starts after the JUDGE and JOHANNA)
JUDGE:
Johanna, if I were to think you encouraged that young rogue ...
JOHANNA:
Oh father, I hope always to be obedient to your commands.
JUDGE (Relenting, patting her cheek):
Dear child.
(Gazing at her lustfully)
How sweet you look in that light muslin gown.
(She runs into the house, the JUDGE after her. The BEADLE follows. ANTHONY is left alone, the empty cage in his hand)
ANTHONY:
I'll steal you,
Johanna,
I'll steal you!
Do they think that walls can hide you?
Even now I'm at your window.
I am in the dark beside you,
Buried sweetly in your yellow hair.
I feel you,
Johanna,
And one day
I'll steal you.
Till I'm with you then,
I'm with you there,
Sweetly buried in your yellow hair ...
(He smashes the cage, throws it away and exits as lights fade)
(Lights come up to reveal St. Dunstan's Marketplace. A hand-drawn caravan, painted like a Sicilian donkey cart, stands on the street. On its side is written in ornate script "Signer Adolfo PIRELLI � Haircutter-Barber-Toothpuller to His Royal Majesty the King of Naples," and under this: "Banish Baldness with PIRELLI's Miracle Elixir. " TODD and MRS. LOVETT enter. TODD is carrying his razor case. MRS. LOVETT has a shopping basket)
TODD (Pointing at the caravan):
That's him? Over there?
MRS. LOVETT:
Yes, dear. He's always here Thursdays.
TODD (Reading the sign):
Haircutter, barber, toothpuller to His Royal Majesty the King of Naples.
MRS. LOVETT:
Eyetalian. All the rage, he is.
TODD:
Not for long.
MRS. LOVETT:
Oh Mr. T., you really think you can do it?
TODD:
By tomorrow they'll all be flocking after me like sheep to be shorn.
MRS. LOVETT (Sees BEADLE):
Oh no! Look. The beadle � beadle Bamford.
TODD:
So much the better.
MRS. LOVETT:
But what if he recognizes you? Hadn't we better�?
TODD:
I will do what I have set out to do, woman.
MRS. LOVETT:
Oops. Sorry, dear, I'm sure.
(TOBIAS, PIRELLI 's adolescent, simple-minded assistant, appears through a curtain at the rear of the caravan, beating on a tin drum. A factory whistle blows and a crowd of people comes running on, gathering around him)
TOBIAS
Ladies and gentlemen!
May I have your attention, perlease?
Do you wake every morning in shame and despair
To discover your pillow is covered with hair
Wot ought not to be there?
Well, ladies and gentlemen,
From now on you can waken at ease.
You need never again have a worry or care,
I will show you a miracle marvelous rare.
Gentlemen, you are about to see something wot rose from the dead!
(A woman gasps � he smiles and wiggles his finger no)
On the top of my head.
Scarcely a month ago, gentlemen,
I was struck with a 'orrible
Dermatologic disease.
Though the finest physicians in London were called,
I awakened one morning amazed and appalled
To discover with dread that my head was as bald
As a novice's knees.
I was dying of shame
Till a gentleman came,
An illustrious barber, Pirelli by name.
He give me a liquid as precious as gold,
I rubbed it in daily like wot I was told,
And behold!
(Doffs his cap dramatically, revealing mountains of hair
which cascade to his shoulders}
Only thirty days old!
'Twas Pirelli's
Miracle Elixir,
That's wot did the trick, sir,
True, sir, true.
Was it quick, sir?
Did it in a tick, sir,
Just like an elixir
Ought to do!
(To 1ST man)
How about a bottle, mister?
Only costs a penny, guaranteed.
1ST MAN:
Penny buys a bottle, I don't know . . .
2ND MAN:
You don't need �
1ST MAN:
Ah, let's go!
(Starts to leave)
TOBIAS (To 3RD MAN):
Go ahead and tug, sir.
3RD MAN:
Penny for a bottle, is it?
TOBIAS:
Go ahead, sir, harder . ..
TOBIAS (Stopping the 1ST man, who's quite bald, by pouring a drop on his head):
Does Pirelli's
Stimulate the growth, sir?
You can have my oath, sir,
'Tis unique.
(Takes the man's hand and gently applies it to the wet spot)
Rub a minute.
Stimulatin', i'n' it?
Soon you'll have to thin it
Once a week!
Penny buys a bottle, guaranteed!
1ST MAN (to 2ND MAN):
Penny buys a bottle, might as well. . .
(Looks hesitantly to 2ND man)
3RD MAN:
Wotcher think?
2ND WOMAN:
Go ahead and try it, wot the hell.. .
TOBIAS (To others):
How about a sample? Have you ever smelled a cleaner smell?
1ST WOMAN ( to 3RD MAN):
Isn't it a crime they let these urchins clog the pavement?
4TH MAN:
Penny buys a bottle, does it?
TOBIAS ( To 2ND MAN):
That's enough, sir, ample.
TOBIAS:
Gently dab it.
Gets to be a habit.
Soon there'll be enough, sir,
Somebody can grab it.
(Points to a man standing nearby)
See that chap with
Hair like Shelley's?
You can tell 'e's
Used Pirelli's!
1ST MAN:
Let me have a bottle.
2ND MAN:
Make that two.
3RD WOMAN:
Come to think of it, I could get some for Harry . . .
4TH WOMAN:
Nothing works on Harry, dear. Bye bye.
TOBIAS:
Go ahead and feel, mum.
Absolutely real, mum . . .
2ND MAN (To 1ST MAN):
How about a beer?
1ST MAN:
You know a pub?
2ND MAN:
There's one close by.
1ST WOMAN ( To 2ND WOMAN):
You got all the hair you need now.
3RD MAN:
That's no lie.
4TH MAN:
Pass it by.
2ND WOMAN:
I'm just passing by.
TODD (Loudly to MRS. LOVETT):
Pardon me, ma'am, what's that awful stench?
MRS. LOVETT:
Are we standing in an open trench?
TODD:
Must be standing near an open trench!
TOBIAS (Distracting the crowd's attention):
Buy PIRELLI's Miracle Elixir:
Anything wot's slick, sir,
Soon sprouts curls.
Try PIRELLI's!
When they see how thick, sir,
You can have your pick, sir,
Of the girls!
(to 4TH WOMAN)
Want to buy a bottle, missus?
(Crowd, overlapping)
TODD (Sniffing 1ST man 's bottle):
What is this?
MRS. LOVETT (Examining 3RD man 's bottle):
What is this?
1ST MAN:
Propogates the hair, sir.
4TH MAN:
I'll take one!
TODD (Hands bottle back distastefully):
Smells like piss.
MRS. LOVETT:
Smells like � phew!
2ND MAN:
He says it smells like piss.
TODD:
Looks like piss.
MRS. LOVETT:
Wouldn't touch it if I was you, dear!
2ND MAN (7b 3RD MAN):
Wotcher think?
TODD (Nods):
This is piss. Piss with ink.
5TH MAN and WOMEN:
Says it smells like piss or something.
TOBIAS:
Penny for a bottle ...
Have you ever smelled a cleaner smell?
How about a sample? . ..
How about a sample, mister? ...
1ST WOMAN:
Give us back our money!
2ND WOMAN:
Give us back our money!
1ST WOMAN:
Did you ever � ?
Give us back our money!
3RD WOMAN:
Glad I didn't buy one, I can tell you!
4TH WOMAN (to TOBIAS):
If you think that piss can fool a lady, you're mistaken!
MRS. LOVETT:
Give 'em back their money!
Did you ever � ?
Give 'em back their money!
3RD WOMAN:
Give 'em back their money, I say!
Give 'em back their money!
TOBIAS (Trying to calm them, gesturing to TODD) :
Never mind that madman, mister .. .
Never mind the madman . . .
TODD and MRS. LOVETT:
Where is this PIRELLI?
crowd:
Where is this PIRELLI?
(Variously, overlapping)
What about my money, laddie?
Yes, what about the money?
Hand it back!
We don't want no piss, boy!
Give it here ...
TOBIAS (Desperately, beating the drum out of rhythm):
Let PIRELLI's
Activate your roots, sir �
TODD:
Keep it off your boots, sir �
Eats right through.
crowd:
Go and get PIRELLI!
TOBIAS:
Yes, get PIRELLI's!
Use a bottle of it!
Ladies seem to love it �
MRS. LOVETT:
Flies do, too!
(Crowd laughs uproariously)
CROWD:
Hand the bloody money over!
Hand the bloody money over!
TOBIAS (Frenetically fast, looking desperately toward the curtain):
See PIRELLI's
Miracle Elixir
Grow a little wick, sir,
Then some fuzz.
The PIRELLI's
Soon'll make it thick, sir,
Like a good elixir
Always does!
Trust PIRELLI's!
If your hair is sick, sir,
Fix it in the nick, sir,
Don't look grim.
Just PIRELLI's
Miracle Elixir,
That'll do the trick, sir �
1ST MAN:
What about the money?
TOBIAS:
If you've got a kick, sir �
CROWD (Individuals, building to a shout):
What about the money?
Where is this PIRELLI?
Go and get PIRELLI!
What about our money?
TOBIAS:
Tell it to the mixer
Of the Miracle Elixir �
If you've got a kick, sir � !
(Desperately yanks the curtain aside, revealing PIRELLI, an excessively flamboyant Italian with a glittering suit, thick wavy hair and a daxtling smile � the crowd falls silent, stunned. TOBIAS collapses, exhausted)
Talk to him!
PIRELLI (Bows and poses splendidly for a moment, in one hand an ornate razor, in the other a sinister-looking tooth-extractor, sings):
I am Adolfo PIRELLI,
Da king of da barbers, da barber of kings,
E buon giorno, good day,
I blow you a kiss!
(He does)
And I, da so-famous Pirelli,
I wish-a to know-a
Who has-a da nerve-a to say
My elixir is piss!
Who says this?
TODD: I do. (He holds up the bottle of elixir) I am Mr. Sweeney Todd and I have opened a bottle of Pirelli's Elixir, and I say to you it is nothing but an arrant fraud, concocted from piss and ink. (MRS. LOVETT takes the bottle from TODD, sniffs it)
MRS. LOVETT: He's right. Phew! Better to throw your money down the sewer.
(She tosses the bottle to the ground. The onlookers "ooh" and "aah" with shocked excitement)
TOBIAS (Beating agitatedly on the drum, shouting): Ladies and gentlemen, pay no attention to that madman. Who's to be the first for a magnificent shave?
TODD (Breaking in): And furthermore . . .(Glaring at Pirelli) I have serviced no kings, yet I wager that I can shave a cheek and pull a tooth with ten times more dexterity than any street mountebank! (He holds up his razor case for the crowd to see) You see these razors?
MRS. LOVETT: The finest in England.
TODD (To Pirelli): I lay them against five pounds you are no match for me. You hear me, sir? Either accept my challenge or reveal yourself as a sham.
MRS. LOVETT: Bravo, bravo.
(The crowd laughs and cheers, obviously on TODD 's side. Pirelli, as imposing as ever, holds up a hand for silence. Slowly he swaggers toward TODD, takes the razor case, opens it and examines the razors carefully)
PIRELLI (He speaks with a fairly obvious put-on foreign accent, barely concealing an Irish underlay): Zees are indeed fine razors. Instruments like zees once seen cannot be soon forgotten. (Takes out a tooth-extractor) And a fine extractor, too! You wager zees against five pounds, sir?
TODD: I do.
PIRELLI (Addressing the crowd): You hear zis foolish man? Watch and see how he will regret his folly. Five pounds it is! (Music starts)
TODD (Surveying the crowd): Friends, neighbors, who's for a free shave?
1ST man (Stepping forward eagerly): Me, Mr. TODD, sir.
2ND man (Stepping forward eagerly, too): And me, Mr. TODD, sir.
TODD: Over here. Bring me a chair.
PIRELLI (To TOBIAS) : Boy, bring ze basins, bring ze towels!
TOBIAS: Yes, sir ...
PIRELLI: Quick!
(He kicks TOBIAS. The boy hurries off into the caravan)
TODD: Will beadle Bamford be the JUDGE?
BEADLE: Glad, as always, to oblige my friends and neighbors.
(As another man comes on with a wooden chair and TOBIAS emerges from the caravan with basins, towels, etc., the BEADLE instantly takes over. To man, indicating where to set the chair) Put it there. (1ST man sits on TODD 's chair. The 2ND man is ensconced on Pirelli's chair. Pirelli shakes out a fancy bib with a flourish and covers his man. TODD takes a towel and tucks it around his man's neck) Ready?
PIRELLI: Ready!
TODD: Ready!
BEADLE: The fastest, smoothest shave is the winner. (He blows his whistle. The music becomes agitated. The contest begins. Pirelli strops his razor quickly, TODD in a leisurely manner. Pirelli keeps glancing at TODD in various paranoid ways throughout, frightened of Todd's progress. He starts whipping up lather rapidly)
PIRELLI (Sings to crowd while mixing, furiously):
Now, signorini, signori,
We mix-a da lather
But first-a you gather
Around, signor-
ini, signori,
You looking a man
Who have had-a da glory
To shave-a da Pope!
Mr. Sweeney-so-smart �
(Sarcastic bow to TODD)
Oh, I beg-a you pardon � '11
Call me a lie, was-a only a cardinal �
Nope!
It was-a da Pope!
(Looks over shoulder, sees TODD still stropping slowly, gains confidence, starts to lather his man's face)
Perhaps, signorini, signori,
You like-a I tell-a
Da famous-a story
Of Queen Isabella,
Da Queen of-a Polan'
Whose toot' was-a swollen,
I pull it so nice from her mout'
That-a though to begin
She's-a screaming-a murder,
She's later-a swoon-a wid
Bliss an' was heard-a
To shout:
"Pull all of 'em out!"
(Unexpectedly, TODD still shows no sign of starting to shave his man. He merely watches Pirelli 's performance. Pirelli, now feeling that he can take his time, sings lyrically as he shaves with rhythmic scrapes and elaborate gestures of wiping the razor)
To shave-a da face,
To pull-a da toot',
Require da grace
And not-a da brute,
For if-a you slip,
You nick da skin,
You clip-a da chin,
You rip-a da lip a bit
And dat's-a da trut'!
(TODD strops his razor slowly and deliberately, disconcerting Pirelli and drawing the crowd's attention)
To shave-a da face
Or even a part
Widout it-a smart
Require da heart.
It take-a da art �
I show you a chart �
(Pulls down an elaborate chart with many anatomical views of the face and closeups of follicles, etc.)
I study-a starting in my yout'!
(TODD starts slowly mixing his lather)
To cut-a da hair,
To trim-a da beard,
To make-a da bristle
Clean like a whistle,
Dis is from early infancy
Da talent give to me
By God!
It take-a da skill,
It take-a da brains,
It take-a da will
To take-a da pains,
It take-a da pace,
It take-a da grace �
(While PIRELLI holds this note elaborately, TODD, with a few deft strokes, quickly lathers his man's face, shaves him and signals the BEADLE to examine the job)
BEADLE (Blowing whistle):
The winner is TODD.
MRS. LOVETT (Feeling the customer's cheek): Smooth as a baby's arse!
(The crowd "oohs " and "ahhs ")
TODD (Looks around): And now, who's for a tooth pulling � free without charge!
MAN WITH HEAD TIED UP IN RAG: Me, sir. Me, sir. (He runs to the chair vacated by the shaved man)
TODD {Looking around): Who else? (There is silence from the crowd) No one? (Turning to the BEADLE) Then, sir, since there is no means to test the second skill, I claim the five pounds!
MRS. LOVETT: To which he is entitled! (To crowd) Right? (The crowd applauds)
PIRELLI: Wait! One moment. Wait! {He turns to TOBIAS) You, boy. Get on that chair.
TOBIAS {In terror): Me, signor? Oh, not a tooth, sir, I beg of you! I ain't got a twinge � not the tiniest pain. I �
PIRELLI (Giving him a stinging blow on the cheek): You do now! {Forces him into the chair. Turning to the crowd) We see who is zee victor now. Zis Mister TODD � or zee great Pirelli!
BEADLE: Ready?
PIRELLI: Ready!
TODD: Ready!
(The BEADLE blows his whistle. While TODD, even more nonchalant than before, merely stands by his patient, Pirelli forces open the mouth of TOBIAS, brandishing his extractor. He peers in, selects a tooth, thrusts the extractor into the mouth and starts to tug while singing with pretended ease. During the song, TOBIAS starts moaning, then screaming� musically)
PIRELLI {Sings):
To pull-a da toot'
Widout-a da skill
Can damage da root �
{As TOBIAS squirms)
Now hold-a da still!
An' if-a you slip
You grip a bit,
You hit da pit of it
Or chip-a da dp
And have-a to fill!
To pull-a da toot'
Widout-a da grace,
You leave-a da space
All over da place.
You try to erase
Widout-a da trace ...
(Glaring archly at TODD)
Sometimes is da case
You even-a kill.
(TODD still watches; Pirelli is having trouble, TOBIAS 's
wails are becoming louder)
To hold-a da clamp
Widout-a da cramp,
Wid all dat saliva,
It could-a drive-a
You crazy �!
(To TOBIAS, who is groaning)
Don' mutter,
Or back-a you go to da gutter �
(To the crowd, forcing a smile)
My touch is as light as a butter-a
Cup!
I take-a da pains,
65
I learn-a da art,
I use-a da brains,
I give-a da heart,
I have-a da grace,
I win-a da race � !
(While again Pirelli holds the note, TODD stands watching. Then in one swift move, he tugs the rag off his patient's head, neatly opens the mouth, looks in, and with a single deft motion of the extractor, gives a tiny tug and, turning to the crowd, holds up the extracted tooth. The beadle blows his whistle. The crowd roars its approval. Pirelli, cut off again in the middle of his high note, sees that TODD has extracted his customer's tooth, and droops)
I give-a da up.
MAN (Jumping up from chair): Not a twinge of pain! Not a twinge!
MRS. LOVETT: The man's a bloody marvel!
BEADLE {Beaming at TODD) : The two-dme winner � Mr. Sweeney Todd!
(Pirelli leaves the tooth unpulled in TOBIAS's mouth and, still retaining his imposing dignity, moves over to TODD)
Pirelli (With profound bow): Sir, I bow to a skill far defter than my own.
TODD: The five pounds.
Pirelli (Produces a rather flamboyant purse, and from it takes five pounds): Here, sir. And may the good Lord smile on you � (With a sinister smile)
� until we meet again. Come, boy. (Bows to crowd) Signori! Bellissime signorini! Buon giorno! Buon giorno a tutti!
(Kicking TOBIAS ahead of him, he returns to the caravan which TOBIAS, like a horse, pulls off)
MRS. LOVETT (To TODD): Who'd have thought it, dear! You pulled it off! (The crowd clusters around TODD)
MAN WITH CAP: Oh, sir, Mr. TODD, sir, do you have an establishment of your own?
MRS. LOVETT: He certainly does. Sweeney TODD's Tonsorial Parlor � above my meat pie-shop on Fleet Street. (The BEADLE strolls somewhat menacingly over to them)
BEADLE: Mr. TODD . . . Strange, sir, but it seems your face is known to me.
MRS. LOVETT (Concealing agitation): Him? That's a laugh him being my uncle's cousin and arrived from Birmingham yesterday.
TODD (Very smooth): But already, sir, I have heard beadle Bamford spoken of with great respect.
BEADLE (Whatever dim suspicions he may have had allayed by the flattery): Well, sir, I try my best for my neighbors. (to MRS. LOVETT) Fleet Street? Over your pie-shop, ma'am?
MRS. LOVETT: That's it, sir.
BEADLE: Then, Mr. TODD, you will surely see me there before the week is out.
TODD (Expressionless): You will be welcome, beadle Bamford, and I guarantee to give you, without a penny's charge, the closest shave you will ever know. (MRS. LOVETT takes TODD 's arm and starts with him off-stage as the scene blacks out. The factory whistle. In limbo, the BEGGAR WOMAN appears with other members of the company. They sing)
MEMBERS OF THE COMPANY:
Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned.
Like a perfect machine 'e planned,
Barbing the hook, baiting the trap,
Setting it out for the BEADLE to snap.
Slyly courted 'im, Sweeney did,
Set a sort of a scene, 'e did.
Laying the trail, showing the traces,
Letting it lead to higher places ...
Sweeney.. .
(The lights shift to a room in JUDGE TURPIN 's house. The JUDGE is in his judicial clothes, a Bible in his hand. In the adjoining room, JOHANNA sits sewing)
JUDGE (Sings):
Mea culpa, mea culpa,
Mea maxima culpa,
Mea maxima maxima culpa!
God deliver me! Release me!
Forgive me! Restrain me! Pervade me!
(He peers through the keyhole of the door to JOHANNA' s room)
Johanna, Johanna,
So suddenly a woman,
The light behind your window �
It penetrates your gown ...
Johanna, Johanna,
The sun � I see the sun through your �
(Ashamed, he stops peering)
No!
God!
Deliver me!
(Sinks to his knees)
Deliver me!
(Starts tearing off his robes)
Down!
68
Down.
Down ...
(Now naked to the waist, he picks up a scourge/row the
table)
Johanna, Johanna,
I watch you from the shadows.
You sigh before your window
And gaze upon the town ...
Your lips part, Johanna,
So young and soft and beautiful �
(Whips himself)
God!
(Again and again, as he continues)
Deliver me!
Filth
Leave me!
Johanna, Johanna,
I treasured you in innocence
And loved you like a daughter.
You mock me, JOHANNA,
You tempt me with your innocence,
You tempt me with those quivering �
(Whips himself)
No!
(Again and again)
God!
Deliver me!
It will-
Stop�
Now! It will �
Stop �
Right-
Now.
Right-
Now.
Right-
Now ...
(Calm again, having kneed his way over to the door, he peers through the keyhole)
Johanna, Johanna,
I cannot keep you longer.
The world is at your window,
You want to fly away.
You stir me, Johanna,
So suddenly a woman,
I cannot watch you one more day � !
(Again whips himself into a frenzy)
God!
Deliver me!
God!
Deliver me!
God!
Deliver �
(Climaxes)
God!!
(Panting, he relaxes; when he is in control again, he starts to dress)
Johanna, Johanna,
I'll keep you here forever,
I'll wed you on the morrow.
Johanna, Johanna,
The world will never touch you,
I'll wed you on the morrow!
As years pass, Johanna,
You'll tend me in my solitude,
No longer as a daughter,
As a woman.
(He is fully dressed again)
Johanna, Johanna,
I'll hold you here forever then,
You'll keep away from windows and
You'll
Deliver me,
Johanna,
From this
Hot
Red
Devil
With your
Soft
White
Cool
Virgin
Palms. ..
(Magisterial again, picking up the Bible, he produces a key and opens the door, the key forgotten, still in the lock. JOHANNA jumps Up)
JOHANNA: Father!
JUDGE: JOHANNA, I trust you've not been near the window again.
JOHANNA (During this speech her eyes fall on the key in the lock): Hardly, dear father, when it has been shuttered and barred these last three days.
JUDGE: How right I was to insist on such a precaution, for once again he has come, that conscienceless young sailor. Ten times has he been driven from my door and yet.. . (Breaks off, gazing at her, smitten with lust) How sweet you look in that light muslin gown.
JOHANNA: 'Tis nothing but an old dress, father.
JUDGE: But fairer on your young form than wings on an angel... oh, if I were to think ...
JOHANNA (Demurely, moving to the door): Think what, dear father?
JUDGE: If I were to think you encouraged this young rogue ...
JOHANNA (During this speech, she slips the key from the lock, hides it in her dress): I? A maid trained from the cradle to find in modesty and obedience the greatest of all virtues? Dear father, when have you ceased to warn me of the
wickedness of men?
JUDGE: Venal young men of the street with only one thought in their heads. But there are men of different and far higher breed. I have one in mind for you.
JOHANNA: You have?
JUDGE: A gentle man, who would shield you from all earthly cares and guide your faltering steps to the sober warmth of womanhood � a husband � a protector � and yet an ardent lover too. It is a man who through all the years has surely earned your affection. (Drops to his knees)
JOHANNA (Staggered): You?!!! (The scene blacks out)