Johanna (character)
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Johanna is a fictional character appearing in the story of
Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...
. In the original version of the tale, the
penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...
''
The String of Pearls ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1846–7), her name is Johanna Oakley and she is no relation of Todd. In the popular musical adaptation by
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
, 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 Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...
. In this version she is the ward of
Judge Turpin Judge Turpin (also known as Lord Turpin) is a fictional character in some adaptations of the story ''Sweeney Todd''. He is the main antagonist, who imprisons Benjamin Barker on a false charge, rapes Barker's wife Lucy, and takes Barker's daug ...
, the man who falsely convicted her father and
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
d her mother.


In ''The String of Pearls''

In ''
The String of Pearls ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' Johanna Oakley is the lover of a sailor named Mark Ingestrie, who seems to have gone missing at sea. One of his shipmates, Lieutenant Thornhill, comes to London with this sad news and also brings a gift of a string of pearls for Johanna from Mark. Thornhill, himself, however, also goes missing - last seen entering Sweeney Todd's establishment. One of Thornhill's seafaring friends, Colonel Jeffery, is alerted to the disappearance of Thornhill by the latter's faithful dog, Hector, and investigates his whereabouts. He is joined by Johanna who wants to know what happened to her lover, Mark Ingestrie. Johanna's suspicions of Sweeney Todd's involvement lead her to the desperate and dangerous expedient of dressing up as a boy and entering Todd's employment, after his last assistant,
Tobias Ragg Tobias is the transliteration of the Greek which is a translation of the Hebrew biblical name he, טוֹבִיה, Toviyah, JahGod is good, label=none. With the biblical Book of Tobias being present in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha of the Bible, To ...
, has been incarcerated in a madhouse. Soon the full grisly horror of Todd's activities are discovered and the dismembered remains of hundreds of his victims found in the crypt underneath St Dunstan's church. Meanwhile it is discovered that Johanna's lover, Mark Ingestrie, is not dead, but has come to London in reduced circumstances and has been imprisoned in the cellars beneath
Mrs. Lovett 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 ...
's pie shop and put to work as the cook. Threatened with being killed and made into a meat-pie himself, he eventually escapes and makes the startling announcement to customers that "Mrs Lovett's pies are made of human flesh!". Mark then marries Johanna and they live happily ever after.


In Sondheim's ''Sweeney Todd''

In Stephen Sondheim's musical, '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', after Benjamin Barker is sent away to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and Lucy raped and driven insane, Judge Turpin takes their daughter Johanna as his
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
, raising her as his own. He keeps her in her chamber at his estate like a prisoner, with her only connection to the outside world being her window. Judge Turpin plans to make Johanna his
wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...
; the idea repulses her, and she rejects him. Anthony Hope falls in love with her at first sight and vows to rescue her from her containment. Judge Turpin discovers her plot to escape and sends her to Fogg's Asylum for the mentally deranged. She is rescued by Anthony, posing as a wig maker's apprentice. During the escape, she is forced to kill Fogg, the Asylum owner, when Anthony cannot bring himself to do so. Disguised as a sailor, she is taken to Sweeney Todd's barber shop, where he has been longing to see her. When an insane beggar woman (later revealed to be her mother) pursues her in the upper room, Johanna hides herself in a large trunk. From there she presumably witnesses Todd's murders of the Beggar Woman and the Judge. She is nearly murdered by her father when he discovers her, as he does not recognize her as his daughter (seeing as he had never met her since infancy and because she is disguised as a young man). She survives when Mrs. Lovett screams in the basement bakehouse, distracting Todd and allowing her to escape. In the final scene, Johanna, Anthony and two policemen encounter Toby in the bakehouse, mindlessly turning the meat grinder, surrounded by the corpses of Todd, Lucy, Mrs. Lovett, and Turpin. Presumably she elopes with Anthony after the events of the show. Much of Johanna's dialogue and lyrics subtly reflect that she may be suffering from living under lock and key, confined by the surveillance of an oppressive and more powerful party. During the song ''Kiss Me'', for example, she repeatedly interrupts Anthony's plans for elopement, believing that she has heard the Judge returning home, before calming and embracing him. This more confined portrayal of her character differs from the earlier ''The String Of Pearls'' version, in which she is offered more autonomy and a perhaps more assertive or adventurous control over her destiny by dressing as a boy. In
Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
's 2007 film adaptation, much of Johanna's music is cut out including the ''Kiss Me'' sequence and her part in the second act Quartet. She has little dialogue, reducing her part to a nearly silent role. After being rescued from the asylum by Anthony, she does not kill Fogg, but instead leaves him to be savagely torn apart by the screeching horde of deranged female inmates with Anthony's consent. Considering that cannibalism is a central theme in the film, the emaciated, unkempt and agitated appearance of the female inmates in Fogg’s presence foreshadows the manner of his grisly death at their hands. The ending is changed slightly: instead of her running out of the Barber Shop, Todd, hearing Mrs. Lovett scream, deliberately lets her go (still without recognizing her) asking her to forget his face. He leaves her sitting in the barber chair, after which she is not seen again, leaving it unclear if she reunites with Anthony, as the film also suggests that Johanna finds the idea of eloping with Anthony to be a naive solution to her traumatic upbringing. In this version Johanna is sixteen years old. In "Poor Thing", Mrs Lovett describes Johanna as the "year-old kid", which, added to the fifteen years Sweeney has spent in Australia, makes her sixteen.


Performers

*
Eve Lister Eve Lister (1913 – 1997) was a British film and television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern medi ...
played the role - billed as "Johanna Oakley" - in the 1936 film adaptation.


Musical performers

* Sarah Rice played Johanna in the original Broadway production. *Mandy More played Johanna in the 1980 London Production. *
Betsy Joslyn Betsy Joslyn (born April 19, 1954 in Staten Island, New York) is a Broadway musical and dramatic actress and soprano. Joslyn is best known for her Broadway work, including the original 1979 production of ''Sweeney Todd''. She appeared in the e ...
portrayed her in the filmed version of the 1982 tour. *
Jayne Wisener Jayne Wisener (born 19 May 1987) is an actress and singer from Northern Ireland. She played Johanna in the British-American film '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. She also appeared in an episode of '' The Inbetweeners'' as Laur ...
played Johanna in the 2007 film adaptation directed by Tim Burton. *
Celia Keenan-Bolger Celia Keenan-Bolger (born January 26, 1978) is an American actress and singer. She is known for portraying Scout Finch in the play ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (2018), which earned her a Tony Award. She has also won three Drama Desk Awards and an ...
played Johanna in the 2004 Production at the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
. * Lauren Molina in the 2005 John Doyle revival, and in the 2007-2008 John Doyle revival international tour. * Cassie Skinner in the 2009 Production at the Roleystone Theatre, Perth, Western Australia. * Lucy May Barker in the 2012 revival at the Adelphi Theatre, London *
Erin Mackey Erin Ashley Mackey (born June 19, 1986) is an American stage actress and singer, known for playing the role of Glinda in the Chicago, Los Angeles, Broadway, and Second National Tour productions of the musical '' Wicked''. She was also a double i ...
in the 2014 New York Philharmonic production. *Sydney M. Hallett in the 2020 St. Thomas Musical Theatre (NB, CA) production.


Songs

In the musical Johanna sings only one song by herself. The tracks were all composed by
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
. These include: * "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Prologue)" (with Company)** * "Green Finch & Linnet Bird"* * "Ah, Miss" (with Anthony and Beggar Woman)** * "Kiss Me (Part I)" (with Anthony)** * "Kiss Me (Part II/Quartet)" (with Anthony, Beadle Bamford and Judge Turpin)** * "Johanna (Quartet)" (with Anthony, Todd and Beggar Woman)** * "City on Fire/Searching" (with Company, Anthony / Todd, Mrs. Lovett and Beggar Woman)** * "Ah, Miss (Reprise)" (with Anthony)** * "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Epilogue)" (with Company)** (* Edited for 2007 film)
(** Cut from 2007 film)


References

{{Sweeney Todd Characters in Sweeney Todd Female horror film characters Literary characters introduced in 1846 Female characters in literature Female characters in film Female characters in musical theatre