ohlookjohannaastar - Tumblr blog

[ohlookjohannaastar]

sweeney todd making that "the closest shave i ever gave" joke TWICE in the span of like. a week really proves that underneath all of the trauma and rage and murderous tendencies and such, he is, at his core, a man who would have made terrible dad jokes every day of his life had he not been sent to jail. you just know one day toby was like "okay i'm done cleaning up" or whatever and he went "hi done cleaning up" without even thinking about it

[ohlookjohannaastar]

josh groban playing sweeney todd is great for many reasons but also because that means that this is who judge turpin shipped off to an australian penal colony.

and this is who came back 15 years later

[ohlookjohannaastar]

my cage has many rooms, damask and dark

[ohlookjohannaastar]

my cage has many rooms, damask and dark

[ohlookjohannaastar]

my cage has many rooms, damask and dark

[ohlookjohannaastar]

typa shit i been on recently

[ohlookjohannaastar]

*holds my hands out like a little victorian orphan boy begging for change* sweeney todd art requests… spare some sweeney todd art requests please

[ohlookjohannaastar]

a lil johanna doodle for those who care…

(no specific actress… just johanna as a character… luv her)

[ohlookjohannaastar]

Whence comes this melody constantly flowing? Is it rejoicing or merely hallooing? Are you discussing, or fussing, or simply dreaming?

MARIA BILBAO as JOHANNA BARKER in the 2023 revival of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. @theriddletrades' master.

[ohlookjohannaastar]

i’m so obsessed with maria bilbao and her portrayal of johanna it’s not even funny. she’s literally the perfect johanna i AUUUUUUGH

[ohlookjohannaastar]

me hyperfixating on sweeney todd like literally right before christmas is so funny to me like Woohoo merry christmas for your gift i give you Murder Barber

[ohlookjohannaastar]

every day i think abt how johanna mea culpa is one of the best and rawest villian songs in musical theatre history (its only competitors for the title to me r mostly other sweeney todd/sondheim songs. which should tell you all u need to know about his musical genius).

like. it’s UNCOMFORTABLE!! you don’t want to be sitting through it! and that is EXACTLY the point of the number. the audience is watching judge turpin whip himself over and over as he screams at God to deliver him. he doesn’t even ASK God to deliver him he COMMANDS. it is an ORDER. it showcases the judge’s turmoil so well. the best part of this number is that not once during it should the audience feel bad for judge turpin! this is so important especially during a musical like sweeney todd. johanna mea culpa is pretty much Directly contrasting songs like epiphany. because epiphany comes RIGHT after judge turpin escapes from sweeney’s grasp. it’s sweeney’s most visible mental break thus far, and that is made KNOWN to the audience. the audience fears sweeney, but at the same time, we sympathize with him. judge turpin has wronged his entire family so thoroughly- we’re rooting for sweeney to finally get his revenge! but that’s not the case for turpin- mea culpa is turpin’s mental break. it’s his turning point in how he sees johanna. and the song encapsulates the disgusting grimy reality of the situation so incredibly well. we feel no sympathy, only discomfort. sweeney is our tragic protagonist and turpin is the villain and it SHOWS in their songs. it’s. augh.

(which is sorta why it makes me so sad to see it removed from productions esp the 2023 broadway revival like yes i get why you’d take it out but also it’s such good characterization it really just encapsulates the darkness and the horror of sweeney tod as a musical. and bc so many people take it out of their shows not enough people know it exists!!!!! which rlly is a downright shame tbh)

anyway that’s all that’s my little ramble for today johanna mea culpa is a work of art and i hate judge turpin

[ohlookjohannaastar]

is it coincidence that the first line we hear mrs. lovett sing is “wait, what’s your rush, what’s your hurry,” and then as the story progresses, she sings “wait”- (“don’t distress yourself, what’s your rush/keep your thoughts nice and lush/wait”) and reprises it in epiphany, before sweeney cuts her off with “why did I wait/you told me to wait”? we see this growing conflict between todd’s hunger for revenge and lovett’s methodical patience FROM THE LITERAL BEGINNING.

[ohlookjohannaastar]

[ohlookjohannaastar]

a friendly little joke

dni if:

your skin is pale and your eye is odd

you shave the faces of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard of again

you trod a path that few have trod

you keep a shop in London Town of fancy clients and good renown

your needs are few, your room is bare: a lavabo and a fancy chair, a mug of suds and a leather strop, an apron, a towel, a pail and a mop

back of your smile, under your word you hear music that nobody hears

you serve a dark and a vengeful god

[ohlookjohannaastar]

[ohlookjohannaastar]

finished my sweeney piece!!