This non-musical version of Sweeney Todd, the world's most heartless villain, is based on the same "penny dreadful" stories as the Sondheim musical (this script predates the musical). Sweeney Todd lures rich victims into his barber shop, puts them in a "special chair," and...where do they go? Ask Mrs. Lovett, owner of a nearby pastry shop which specializes in meat pies. Tim Kelly's version is a delicious spoof of the Gay Nineties melodrama, full of fun and suspense. Replete with the excitement, suspense, and laughter that everybody hopes for in a melodrama—this play is of much higher quality than the burlesque, trite "mellerdrammers" that are found on second-rate stages. You'll be proud to present this one—whether it's for your annual fun-melodrama or a major production.

Sweeney Todd is the most infamous (and hilarious) villain in stage history. He has been delighting theatregoers for almost 150 years. Here he is in a new adaptation written with a modern beat by Tim Kelly, author of Dracula, 'The Vampire Play,' considered by many to be the best of all the Dracula plays for amateur theatre. Sweeney Todd is fast-moving and side-splitting...and easy to produce. Gad, what a plot! Sweeney has a lucrative business shaving his customers too close. With the assistance of Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, he robs and erases. But Sweeney has other ambitions. He plans to marry the socially prominent and dainty Lily Fairoak and move into politics. Complications set in and the furious barber finds himself harrassed by waifs from the orphanage, honest sailing lads, society matrons, and the spirits of those he has done in.

Comic chases, heart-rending moments in the depths of the city jail, and joyous reunions are set against a background of the Barbary Coast, Chinatown, and Nob Hill. Songs can be added to the text, and olio or specialty numbers can be provided between acts. In the spirit of the Gay Nineties melodrama, audiences will thrill to Lily's sacrifice! weep as Widow Fairoak is brought to ruin! cheer Sailor Tom as he returns in the nick of time! cringe as Todd turns his hideous cackle on the audience! rejoice as justice triumphs! Above all, everybody will LAUGH with this outrageous parody of penny dreadful "mellerdrammers."

Many small character roles provide an opportunity to get a large cast on stage. Designed for easy rehearsals, Sweeney Todd is great fun for cast and audience—and suitable for all groups and all ages. It has been eminently successful for professional and community theatre, colleges and universities, high schools, and even a few middle schools.

Three acts; one set, some chairs, tables and a few props; Gay Nineties costumes.

"Sweeney Todd is a send-up of old-fashioned melodrama...Tim Kelly has taken the legend of a throat-slitting barber in league with a woman who sells the diced corpses as meat pies...The villain's treachery brings the poor heroine to the brink of disaster until virtue triumphs in the nick of time. Mitch Walker's campy production style fits the play, and the audience has a gay old time."— Show Biz West, Los Angeles.