Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls

by Yuri Rasovsky

The insidious Fleet Street barber slit his first throat in an 1846 "penny dreadful," one of those gaudy serialized novels that gleefully offered thrills and gore to sensation-hungry Victorians. Titled The String of Pearls, it told of Sweeney Todd, whose shop stood next to St. Dunstan's Church, just a few blocks from the Royal Courts of Justice. On this site, he robbed and murdered hundreds of customers. To dispose of their remains, he carried them to an underground bakery of one Mrs. Lovett, whose pie shop was a few blocks away. She ground the cadavers into stuffing for her meat pies, the favorite midday repast of the lawyers who worked nearby and who got their shaves from Sweeney Todd. The man you lunched with yesterday could be your lunch today! Before the serial's final chapters even hit the stands, the first stage version, pirated from the already published installments, was packing them in at a London theater. Since then there have been numerous stage, literary, and screen versions of the story, most notably the hit Sondheim musical. Blackstone Audio has commissioned this, the first audio version of the tale, from the Audie(R) award-winning Hollywood Theater of the Ear (The Sherlock Holmes Theatre, The Oresteia). With tongue in cheek, writer/producer/director Yuri Rasovsky has gone all the way back to the original penny dreadful to imbue an old string of pearls with new luster--and fresh blood.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Fiction, Plays, Classics, Mystery, Gothic

2 pages, Audio CD

First published August 10, 2007

Reviews

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls is an audiobook version from the original classic story Sweeney Todd. I couldn't miss the opportunity of acquiring this audiobook for Php 25 and I listened to this 2 1/2 hours straight. I enjoyed listening with its full cast narration, the dialogue was remarkable and the sound effects made the story so vivid and atmospheric.

It's wonderful production by Yuri Rasovksy though his version is lighter in comparison to Tim Burton's film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It's still has the eerie vibe but the film adaptation was dark, serious and graphic. (So much gore!) Overall, it's great and perfect for Halloween season.

[Eddie Generous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun!

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun short story. It has a full cast in the audio version which was entertaining to say the least. What a disturbing but delightfully absurd story.

[Jennifer Bernardini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls is a dramatized production, which adds to it's hilarity. Going into this, I knew nothing about Sweeney Todd, only that Jonny Depp played him in the movie (which I haven't seen.) I can't say how one compares to another.
Here we have Sweeney Todd, killing people to steal their "swag"---his word, not mine. And then dropping them into a kill dungeon to be made into meat pie. And, I might add, that's a meat pie that the whole town seems to love. I guess people meat is the best meat.
This is an extremely predictable production. If you don't know what's going on, maybe you should be made into a meat pie! The dialogue is hilarious. One thing I couldn't stand is the chewing noises when people were eating the yuck pies. I could have done without all the jaw slapping and saliva. I get it, you're eating. Don't gross me out.
This is a quick listen, about 2 and a half hours. If you like the dramatized version of audiobooks, I'd pick this up.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this Hollywood audio presentation. It was a wonderful account of cannibalism at its finest!

[Toni FGMAMTC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is ridiculous but so entertaining. A lot of the dialogue is funny. The actually storyline is scary, a barber killing people and a cook selling them in her pies. It’s worth the time.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweeney Todd, what an amusing fellow. Pretty good audiobook. It was done as a play with a lot of different character voices.

[Salam Almahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is no secret how much I love Sweeney Todd! The movie is one of my all time favorites, I even own a DVD copy.
So, when I found this as a full-cast audiobook, I had to get it!! And it did not disappoint.
It played like a full-on play, with music and sound effect. Basically, the production was impeccable!

My thing is, I'm not sure 8f I like this version or the movie's better. In the book, we got a happy ending, which worked perfectly with the plot, but in comparison, I think the movie version hit deeper.
The females had bigger, better roles, and all the POV were explored fully. However, Sweeney Todd himself was a plain villain, and not the complex character that i adored.

Overall, I enjoyed this immensely, and would totally recommend it- even if you haven't watched the movie.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was produced as an audio play and it’s a good thing it was short. It’s definitely a penny dreadful; and it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a penny dreadful, but for someone who was introduced first to Todd by Sondheim and then Johnny Depp, this didn’t recommend itself to me. Todd is not a sympathetic character; none of the characters are sympathetic; the production values are fine; and the cast is talented; but I wasn’t in love with the writing, and I wasn’t in love with the story.

[Kara Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for Sweeney Todd and string of pearls

How did I not know that this existed I absolutely love the movie and have seen it serval times and I stumbled upon this and was like obviously I have to listen to it. I’m so glad I did because this a very good production of the story of Sweeney Todd. Definitely 5 stars highly recommend if you are trying to get that Halloween spooky vibe on. The short story is a little bit more upbeat and happier with the ending than in the movie itself, it’s not as dark.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. This full cast audiobook definitely contributed to my enjoyment. It was so well done. I love the stage musical and the Tim Burton film adaptation so it was great to read the original story that started it all. This was such a fun experience and while I think the story and the way Sondheim adapted it for the stage is far superior this was still great.

[Sara Pauff · Rating 3 out of 5]

An over the top but thoroughly entertaining dramatic play. If you’re only familiar with the Tim Burton movie musical, this differs a lot — Sweeney Todd is not sympathetic at all, but a true, sniggering villain who kills for greed and tries to rape Joanna. But the heroes get their happily ever after and the villains get their due at the end. Mrs. Lovett is still my favorite character.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the Hollywood Theater of the Early Version. It was well done and leaves you with the creepy feeling that could only come from such despicable people. The storyline is well done and all of the characters fit the bill well. A wonderful example of the deepest horrors that could be committed. Hope you enjoy it too. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, short audiobook, likely as it's a theatre production with a cast and sound effects. I've not seen Sweeney Todd, but I'm curious now after listening to the story. That said, I'm fine if I never heard it again. The story wasn't bad, but it wasn't as wonderful as I thought it might be.

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this. No way will I ever see the movie, because I don't do blood, so this was a perfect substitute. I was surprised to find two of the participants to be former colleagues of mine performing the music. Ah, memories. lol

[OutSideTheBoxox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent audio drama rendition of the story and I recommend you listen to it in one go for the best effect. The musical parts are charming and well-spaced, for an all-round engaging experience.

[Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audio book was a dramatic production of the silly story of Sweeney Todd. Liked the language--words and phrases from olde London towne--and the best thing was the interspersed music and songs all sounding like the times.

[Mj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the exact one that I read but I couldn't find it. I've always adored Sweeney Todd and after reading a graphic novel a few years back decided to read the book. The characters are so complex and it's such a well thought out plot.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was THE PERFECT Halloween read and probably my favorite audiobook experience EVER.

I had no idea it was an entire theater production when I picked this up. The music, the voices, the sound effects? Why can’t all audiobooks be like this?

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the full cast audio version and it was fun. I've seen the movie with Johnny Depp, but I liked this shortened version too. The cast did a great job and Sweeney Todd was definitely despicable.

[Tiffany N · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a classic story about a barber named Sweeney Todd who murdered his customers. For how short this story is, there is a lot of detail. I will say, the audiobook is pretty good. Loved the singing.

[Linds · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original penny dreadful that inspired the famous musical. I read this via audiobook and the actors did a very good job.

[Sandy Hensley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Movie was better and more detailed.

[Allison Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
this was fine but both the movie and play are better
but overall I am glad I finally got to experience this

[Rickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining but I really enjoy the other version of the tale better which was used in the musical and the Tim Burton movie.

[Wintermote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed to read for a reading challenge category, and it was….interesting….

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great read with a lot of twists and turns

[Haven Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the audiobook!!!!

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the musical movie version with Johnny Depp, so I wanted to read a version. It was as expected, a delightful penny dreadful in all the good parts, a bit predictable in the dull ones.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll admit I was expecting something more along the line of the movie from 2007 in terms of the Characters. This story wasn't horrible but it wasn't what I expected. The character of Sweeney Todd was different from what I expected, as was Mrs. Lovett. If you don't go in expecting the characters to be similar to the movie then I would say this story was a solid 3.5 stars.