The Tale of Sweeney Todd character of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, originated in an 1846–47 penny dreadful entitled "The String of Pearls". In 1847, George Dibdin Pitt adapted the story for a stage melodrama. A directed by George King was the first screen version. Christopher Bond's 1973 stage adaptation was musicalized by Stephen Sondheim in 1979. Schlesinger's film is a dramatic departure from the previous narratives. It dispenses with all the characters except Todd and Lovett, adds the plotline involving the missing diamonds, and offers a completely different reason for Todd's murder spree. The Victorian era locales were filmed in Dublin,
Not While I'm Around (Sweeney Todd) I’m Around,' sung protectively to Mrs. Lovett by her young aide, Tobias Ragg". Not While I'm Around (Sweeney Todd) "Not While I'm Around" is a song from the Stephen Sondheim musical "". It is a duet between Tobias Ragg and Mrs. Lovett. "Sweeney Todd" opened on Broadway in 1979. In the pie shop that Mrs. Lovett owns, she has taken in young Tobias, who was homeless, to be her helper. Tobias expresses suspicions about Sweeney Todd and states his desire to protect Mrs. Lovett, whom he has come to view as a mother figure. Mrs. Lovett is revealed to be