'More the Merrier' for Sweeney Todd

Reuters offers an article about the London stage revival of the musical Sweeney Todd, discussing the various stage productions as well as the impact of the upcoming Johnny Depp film with theatre-goers:

Later this year, the vengeful barber and the lovey-dovey Mrs. Lovett, who has the novel notion of popping priests and other victims of Todd's razor into meat pies, go Hollywood.

Tim Burton, who appropriately made his name with "Edward Scissorhands," directs, and Johnny Depp, who tottered across the Caribbean as Captain Jack Sparrow, plays Todd.

Will success spoil Todd (Sweeney)? No one thinks so.

"The more the merrier," David Freeman, director of the London revival, told Reuters. "It's a terrific piece, Johnny Depp is a fantastic actor and if they can make a film out of it as well, that's great.

"I don't think that takes away from peoples' desire to have the impact of live theatre," he added.

Depp has been quoted as saying his singing is "not unlike the mating call of a rutting stag", but Sondheim is pleased.

"Sometimes a story or stage production has to wait a long time until the right people come together to turn it into a motion picture," he says in a press release from Dreamworks, which is producing the film for late 2007 release by Paramount in the U.S. and Warner Brothers internationally.

"That's what has happened with Sweeney and I'm excited as well as confident that it will be a first-rate and startling movie."

"It's kind of like doing 'The Sound of Music' but with lots of blood," Burton adds.