Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearl

Yuri Rasovsky

ISBN 10: 143320343X ISBN 13: 9781433203435

Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, 2007

Synopsis

According to legend, Sweeney Todd had his barber shop at number 186 Fleet Street, next door to St. Dunstan's Church, just a few blocks away from the Royal Courts of Justice. On this site, they say, he robbed and murdered more than 150 customers. To dispose of their remains, he carried them through underground tunnels to the bakery of one Mrs. Lovett a few blocks away, where they supplied the stuffing for her meat pies, the favorite mid-day repast of the lawyers who worked nearby and got their shaves from Sweeney Todd. The man you lunched with yesterday could be your lunch today!

The story first appeared in 1846 as a best-selling "penny dreadful," a sensational thriller published in installments. Before the final chapters even had a chance to hit the stands, the first stage version was packing them in at the Royal Britannia Saloon. Since then there have been numerous stage and literary versions of the story.

About this title

About the Author:

YURI RASOVSKY, author, producer, and director, has won high critical acclaim and numerous honors during his thirty-five-year career in audio drama, including a Peabody Award and, most recently, his third Audie® Award, earned in 2006 for Blackstone's Sherlock Holmes Theatre.

From AudioFile:

Writer/producer/director Rasovsky based this blackly humorous melodrama on the original Victorian tale, well known as a musical about a barber who kills and robs his rich customers. Their bodies supply the meat for the savory pies sold by his partner, Mrs. Lovett. The gruesome plot is played tongue-in-cheek and laced with comic and satiric elements. Performances are strong throughout. W. Morgan Sheppard is especially delectable as Todd. Accents occasionally wobble or are laid on a bit thick but are generally very good; Robertson Dean does a fine turn with a rural accent. Sound effects and music are used frequently and well, and the drama is punctuated with amusing and well-done songs, mostly traditional. This is a spirited and entertaining production. W.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 143320343X
• ISBN 13: 9781433203435
• Binding: Audio CD