Annotation

the Quintet (members of the Company) is comprised of: Carole Doscher, Skip Harris, Betsy Joslyn, Craig Lucas, and Robert Ousley

were it not for the oddity of repetitive colons, this would be titled:
"Wigmaker Sequence: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney'd Waited Too Long Before... / The Letter" or perhaps
The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney'd Waited Too Long Before... / The Letter (Wigmaker Sequence)

it is one of several ballads sung by the Company throughout the course of the musical to present a narrative of sorts to the audience, and the Wigmaker Sequence is just a particular scene in the musical when this ballad is performed.

Annotation last modified on 2026-02-24 15:30 UTC.

Appears on releases

#TitleLengthTrack artistRelease titleRelease artistRelease group typeCountry/DateLabelCatalog#
Official
2.4Wigmaker Sequence / The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney’d waited too long before … / The Letter3:39Len Cariou, Victor Garber / Quintet: Members of the Company / Quintet, Len CariouSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979 original Broadway cast) (extra tracks, original recording remastered)Stephen Sondheim; Angela Lansbury, Len CariouAlbum + Soundtrack
  • US2007-03-20
Masterworks Broadway82876-68639-2
2.4Wigmaker Sequence / The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney’d waited too long before… / The Letter3:40Stephen SondheimSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979 original Broadway cast)Stephen Sondheim; Angela Lansbury, Len CariouAlbum + SoundtrackRCA Red Seal3379-2-RC

Relationships

recording engineer:Anthony Salvatore (engineer) (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
producer:Thomas Z. Shepard
vocals:Len Cariou (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
Carole Doscher (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
Victor Garber (Canadian actor/singer) (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
Skip Harris (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
Betsy Joslyn (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
Craig Lucas (playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor) (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
Robert Ousley (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
conductor:Paul Gemignani (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
phonographic copyright (℗) by:RCA Records (not for release label use! for the imprint, please use “RCA” instead) (in 1979)
recorded at:RCA Studio A (New York) in New York, New York, United States (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
recording of:1. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney’d waited too long before… (reprise 4) (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)
2. Sweeney Todd: The Letter (from 1979-03-12 until 1979-03-13)

Sweeney Todd: The Letter

orchestrator:Jonathan Tunick
lyricist:Stephen Sondheim
part of:Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (order: 28)

The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Sweeney’d waited too long before… (reprise 4)

orchestrator:Jonathan Tunick
lyricist and composer:Stephen Sondheim
part of:Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (order: 27)
quotes music from:Missa pro defunctis: Sequentia “Dies irae” (plainchant)