The first and only podcast bringing you weekly case studies in the pop culture of a dying empire. Every Wednesday, co-hosts Josh, Brian, and A.J. dissect an artifact of popular culture, breaking down how its narrative choices reflect or subvert the reactionary political project. From video games to movies to theater to an apparently infinite supply of evangelical Christian radio drama, we expose the machinations of the worst of all possible worlds in order to figure out how to build a better one. Also, we have bits.
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137 - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (feat. Josh Sawyer)
Josh Sawyer (Pentiment, Fallout: New Vegas) and the lads grab their razors and complete their arms as they attend the tale of Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 barber-ic bloodbath: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Topics include the show’s horror film origins, the unimpeachable score, and the long term ramifications of using Sweeney Todd as a gateway drug into the wild world of musical theater.
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Josh Sawyer: Twitter // Tumblr
Media Referenced in this Episode:
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- The Original Broadway Cast recording
- The 2006 John Doyle Revival
- The 2023 Broadway Revival
- The Movie
- “Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes” by Stephen Sondheim, Penguin Random House. 2010.
- “Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far” Podcast. Masterworks Broadway.
TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com
Commercial: “Epiphabee” Music by Stephen Sondheim, Lyrics by Dr. Samuel Bultch, D.D.S. feat. Eleanor Philips as “Mrs. Hornet”