🎭📚 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

📚 STORY SEEKERS: Sweeney Todd meets Sweeney Todd, the musical

The Concept: What happens when you read a book and then experience something connected to it? Join us to find out! We'll all read Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street: The String Of Pearls by Prest, then gather for Sweeney Todd, the musical at Music Mountain Theater to see how the story translates beyond the page. Afterward, we'll compare notes over food and drinks at Under the Moon in Lambertville, NJ.

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Details for you:
STEP 1: BUY your ticket for Sweeney Todd
🎭 Sweeney Todd

• When: Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 3PM ET
• Venue: Music Mountain Theater
• Address: 1483 NJ-179, Lambertville, NJ 08530
• Phone: (609) 397-3337
• Total investment: $35 ticket + book + your meal = great conversation with fellow book lovers!

STEP 2: RSVP | Once you've secured your ticket, RSVP here to reserve your discussion spot. Limited to 10 members

STEP 3: READ the book
📚 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street: The String Of Pearls by Thomas Peckett Prest

• Available: $11.99 Amazon
• Pages: 276

STEP 4: The Event! Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 3PM ET
🎭 Sweeney Todd at Music Mountain Theater

• Address: 1483 NJ-179, Lambertville, NJ 08530
• Phone: (609) 397-3337

🍽️ Post-Event Gathering at Under the Moon

• Address: 23 N Union St, Lambertville, NJ 08530
• Phone: (609) 397-1710
• Menu

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About the Book
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street: The String Of Pearls by Thomas Peckett Prest
The String of Pearls: A Romance is the title of a story first published as a penny part serial 1846-47. The main antagonist of the story is the infamous Sweeney Todd, "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", who here makes his literary debut.
Reading connection: Reading "The String of Pearls" - the original 1846-47 Victorian penny dreadful that created the Sweeney Todd legend - allows you to experience the dark, sensational source material that inspired all later adaptations, including Sondheim's musical, giving you insight into how the story evolved from Gothic serial fiction to Broadway stage.

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About the Event
Sweeney Todd at Music Mountain Theatre
Be sure to purchase the Saturday, October 18th 3PM showing
Attend the dark, witty and Tony Award-winning tale of love, murder and revenge set against the backdrop of 19th century London. An infamous tale, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which, he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett's luck sharply shifts when Todd's thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up... and the carnage has only just begun!

Note: This production contains depictions of murder, violence, and dark themes that may be unsettling for younger or sensitive audiences.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Purchase your ticket FIRST, then RSVP on Meetup. Don't RSVP here until you have your ticket secured!

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LET'S TALK ABOUT...
To get us started:

• Character transformation: How did Sondheim and Wheeler reimagine Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett from Prest's original characters - what personality traits, motivations, and relationships changed, and how do these changes affect our sympathy for the characters?
• Victorian social critique vs. modern themes: Compare Prest's commentary on 1840s London's class divisions, urban corruption, and justice system with Sondheim's focus on alienation, revenge, and moral decay - what does each version say about its era's anxieties?
• Storytelling across mediums: How does the episodic, cliffhanger structure of the original penny dreadful serial compare to the musical's dramatic arc, and which medium better serves the story's themes of obsession and descent into madness?
• Your own reactions, questions, and observations!

🌟 WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS

• Experience stories in multiple dimensions
• Meet fellow literature enthusiasts
• Gain deeper appreciation for both mediums
• Enjoy thought-provoking conversation over great food

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QUESTIONS?
Check our Rules of Engagement before signing up. Message Heather with any questions.
See you there!