This production of the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical was filmed at the end of a ten-month national tour of the show, with Hearn in the title role playing opposite Lansbury's Mrs. Lovett. The cast also includes Cris Groenendaal (Anthony Hope), Sara Woods (Beggar Woman), Edmund Lyndeck (Judge Turpin), Calvin Remsberg (The Beadle), Betsy Joslyn (Johanna), and Sal Mistretta (Pirelli).

Considered one of Sondheim's masterpieces, Sweeney Todd premiered at Broadway's Uris Theatre (now the Gershwin) February 6, 1979, with a cast led by Len Cariou and Lansbury, who both nabbed Tony Awards for their roles. Harold Prince directed the production, which was awarded the 1979 Tony for Best Musical.

The current Tooting Arts Club production of Sweeney Todd, which transforms the Barrow Street Theatre into a working pie shop for its run, officially opened Off-Broadway March 1 after previews that began February 14. Directed by Bill Buckhurst, the New York production is based on an acclaimed London staging that premiered at Harrington’s Pie and Mash Shop in 2014.