Oral Presentations
Little Shops of Horror: An Exploration of Horror and Comedy in "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Sweeney Todd"
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Dr. Bernadette Sweeney
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Theatre
Abstract / Artist's Statement
In my decade as a musical theatre enthusiast, there have been many shows that have piqued my interest. However, there were two in particular that felt so completely different, but when I sat down to analyze them, I couldn’t understand why. Both of them are deeply disturbing and dark, but they are also really funny. They are both musicals about murder, both rely on physical humor. And yet one is about a giant man eating plant in 1960’s New York City, and the other is about a murderous barber in London in 1785.
The musicals I am referring to are Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim. Little Shop is widely regarded as a horrific comedy musical, whereas Sweeney Todd is known as a comedic horror musical. I’m curious how both these musicals got the reputation they did with the same basic formula. Through my research I hope to uncover the different techniques used to articulate horror and comedy in these two musicals and gain a more complete understanding of what techniques allow for dark material to be seen as comedic, and which techniques lead to a musical more grounded in the dark with funny moments throughout. Thank you so much for your time.
Category
Visual and Performing Arts (including Creative Writing)
Little Shops of Horror: An Exploration of Horror and Comedy in "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Sweeney Todd"
UC 327
In my decade as a musical theatre enthusiast, there have been many shows that have piqued my interest. However, there were two in particular that felt so completely different, but when I sat down to analyze them, I couldn’t understand why. Both of them are deeply disturbing and dark, but they are also really funny. They are both musicals about murder, both rely on physical humor. And yet one is about a giant man eating plant in 1960’s New York City, and the other is about a murderous barber in London in 1785.
The musicals I am referring to are Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim. Little Shop is widely regarded as a horrific comedy musical, whereas Sweeney Todd is known as a comedic horror musical. I’m curious how both these musicals got the reputation they did with the same basic formula. Through my research I hope to uncover the different techniques used to articulate horror and comedy in these two musicals and gain a more complete understanding of what techniques allow for dark material to be seen as comedic, and which techniques lead to a musical more grounded in the dark with funny moments throughout. Thank you so much for your time.