Tobias Ragg | |
---|---|
Sweeney Todd character | |
Portrayed by | Brian Glenny (1928 film, as Tobias Wragg) Johnny Singer (1936 film) Len Jones (1970 television) Ken Jennings (original 1979 Broadway cast) Michael Staniforth (original 1980 London cast) Andrew Schofield (1985 London revival) Adrian Lewis Morgan (1993 National Theatre Revival/1994 BBC Radio production) Michael Cantwell (2000 London concert) Neil Patrick Harris (2001 concert) Mark Price (2002 Kennedy Center) Manoel Felciano (2005 revival) Ben Walker (2007 TV film) Edward Sanders (2007 film) James McConville (2012 London Revival) Gaten Matarazzo (2023 Broadway revival) Joe Locke (2023 Broadway revival, starting Jan 2024) |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Tobias Ragg |
Alias | Tobias Wragg |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Apprentice Waiter |
Home | Fleet Street, London |
Tobias Ragg (also spelled as Tobias Wragg and sometimes referred to as Toby) is a fictional character who appears in various adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd . The character is an apprentice to the abusive barber Pirelli until Pirelli is murdered by Todd. Toby proceeds to stay with Todd and Mrs. Lovett, helping the latter out in her meat pie shop. Later, Tobias discovers that they have a joint venture to cook the men Todd shaves into meat pies. He ultimately kills Todd after Todd kills Lovett and Lucy Barker, along with multiple others.
Various actors have portrayed Toby, most notably Ken Jennings, the original actor in the 1979 Broadway production, Neil Patrick Harris in the 2001 concert version of the musical, Manoel Felciano in the 2005 revival of the musical, Edward Sanders in the 2007 film of the musical, and Gaten Matarazzo and Joe Locke in the 2023-2024 revival of the musical. Toby participates in multiple songs in the play and movie, having a solo in "Not While I'm Around".
In the penny dreadful The String of Pearls , Tobias Ragg is the apprentice of Sweeney Todd, a barber who murders his customers. Sweeney Todd has him committed to a lunatic asylum after Tobias finds proof of Todd's guilt and decides to contact the police. He eventually escapes, is involved in Todd's arrest, and as the story ends goes into the service of Johanna's husband-to-be Mark Ingestrie. Tobias Ragg was also the young apprentice of Todd in the 1936 film version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street .
In the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , Toby is the apprentice of Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a barber who was once an apprentice of Todd, [1] and a tenor/boy soprano. [2] Pirelli pretends to be Italian, and sells some fake potions for hair, made of "piss and ink". Toby is taken in by Mrs. Lovett after Todd kills Pirelli, who threatened to blackmail him. Toby becomes deeply attached to Mrs. Lovett, thinking of her as a surrogate mother. The character expresses this in one of the final songs in the play, "Not While I'm Around". However, when he discovers that Todd has been killing customers for Mrs. Lovett to bake into meat pies, he goes insane with horror and shock. After seeing Todd kill Mrs. Lovett, a vengeful Toby emerges from the sewers, where he was hiding, and slashes Todd's throat with his razor. Sweeney, knowing that Toby is about to kill him, lifts his head to make it easier [3] [4] In Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a 2007 film adaptation of the musical directed by Tim Burton, Toby's role is mostly the same.
In the stage musical, Toby is portrayed as a mentally handicapped adult;[ citation needed ] Ken Jennings, who originated the Broadway role, was 31 on opening night, [5] and Neil Patrick Harris was 27. In the 2007 movie, he is a child and not mentally ill, portrayed by 14-year-old Ed Sanders.
In the musical Tobias Ragg has only one solo number, "Not While I'm Around", which he sings to Mrs. Lovett. He does sing various other songs with other characters, including:
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in various media.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled The String of Pearls.
Kenneth Jennings is an American stage actor, most famous for his role as Tobias Ragg in the 1979 Broadway premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Jennings received the 1979 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for this role. He has also performed in several other shows, including Urinetown in 2001.
Alexander Cesare Gemignani is a Broadway actor, tenor, musician, and conductor. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Carousel and a Drama Desk Award for his performance in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFTA Award nominated role as Hester Fields in the sitcom Fresh Fields (1984–1986) and its sequel French Fields (1989–1991), and as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple (2009–2013).
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical slasher film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by John Logan, based on the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, which in turn is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The film retells the melodramatic Victorian tale of Sweeney Todd, an English barber and serial killer who, while seeking revenge on Judge Turpin who wrongfully convicted and exiled him to steal his wife, murders his customers and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, processes their corpses into meat pies.
John Doyle is a Scottish stage director of musicals and plays, as well as operas. He served as artistic director at several regional theatres in the United Kingdom, where he staged more than 200 professional productions during his career spanning over 40 years.
Siobhán Mary Ann McCarthy is an Irish television and stage actress.
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina, Mary and Claudetta. A baker from London, Mrs. Lovett is an accomplice and business partner of Sweeney Todd, a barber and serial killer from Fleet Street. She makes meat pies from Todd’s victims.
Edward William Sanders is an English actor, singer, and record producer. He is best known for his performance as Tobias Ragg in the 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He was also featured on the film's soundtrack. He also appeared in the historical adventure drama film Hugo in 2011, where he was part of the ensemble.
Bloodthirsty Butchers is a 1970 horror film directed by Andy Milligan and starring Michael Cox, Linda Driver, Jane Helay, and Bernard Kaler. It is an adaptation of the notorious story of Sweeney Todd. The film was released as a double feature with Torture Dungeon.
Johanna is a fictional character appearing in the story of Sweeney Todd. In the original version of the tale, the penny dreadful The String of Pearls (1846–7), her name is Johanna Oakley and she is no relation of Todd. In the popular musical adaptation by Stephen Sondheim, inspired by Christopher Bond's play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1973), she is the daughter of Benjamin Barker and his wife, Lucy. In this version she is the ward of Judge Turpin, the man who falsely convicted her father and raped her mother.
Lucy Barker is a fictional character that appears in some versions of the story Sweeney Todd. Lucy is the wife of barber Benjamin Barker, who is unjustly imprisoned by Judge Turpin, who wants Lucy for himself. After Turpin sexually abuses her, Lucy attempts suicide with poison, but survives and goes insane. Years later, Benjamin Barker, now calling himself "Sweeney Todd", returns to London and his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett tells Todd about Lucy poisoning herself, but leaves out that Lucy lived. He later finds Lucy as a beggar woman; not recognizing her, he slits her throat, before killing Mrs. Lovett.
Judge Turpin is a fictional character in Christopher Bond's 1973 play of the story of Sweeney Todd, as well as later adaptations. He is the main antagonist, a cruel and corrupt judge who imprisons Benjamin Barker on false charges, rapes Barker's wife Lucy, and takes Barker's daughter Johanna in as his ward.
Mr. Adolfo Pirelli, also known as Alf Spiral, Daniel O'Higgins or Davy Collins, is a fictional character from Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He is a supporting antagonist in the story and a rival barber to Sweeney Todd. He is eventually killed by Todd after he threatens him with extortion.
The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance is a story first published as a penny dreadful serial from 1846 to 47. The main character of the story is Sweeney Todd, "the Demon Barber of Fleet Street". The story was the character's first literary appearance.
Eddie Korbich is an American actor, singer and dancer. He was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
Timothy Nolen was an American actor and baritone who had an active career in operas, musicals, concerts, plays, and on television for over four decades. He was the second actor to play the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway replacing Michael Crawford in October 1988.
Manoel Felciano is an American actor, singer, and songwriter.
"Not While I'm Around" is a song from the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It is a duet between Tobias Ragg and Mrs. Lovett that first appeared on Broadway in 1979. A screen adaptation for the 2007 film of the same name features Edward Sanders as Tobias and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. In the 2023 revival, it is sung by Gaten Matarazzo and Annaleigh Ashford. Josh Groban, who played the barber in the 2023 production, has also released his own version.