Robert L. Mack

i loved the Tim Burton version of the Sondheim musical, so when I saw this at the public library, I had to get it. I knew that the basic story had been around for a while, but had no idea just how far back it goes. Robert Mack does a very good job of tracking the sources for the original story published in 1847, and nicely compares the theatrical development of Sweeney Todd with the written version. The analytical discussions certainly seemed well done, but it's not my area of expertise and I'm probably not the best to judge in that area. The only real flaw in the work for me was the density of Mack's writing. He (or more likely, the publisher) crammed a lot of words on each page, both from tiny print and from very complex sentences. I found myself having to read sections several time to follow his discussion, especially in the more analytical areas.… (more)