Stephen Sondheim will judge if Johnny Depp’s voice can cut it as the razor wielding barber in Sweeney Todd.

Before Johnny Depp is given his scissors, razor and strop he must pass a test to become the butchering barber Sweeney Todd. He won’t be graded on how well he trims a beard or his ability to create a metro-sexual hair style but rather how well he belts a tune.

The musical composed by Stephen Sondheim will be brought to the big screen by Tim Burton. It was Burton who suggested Depp for the role of Sweeney Todd after years of working with the movie icon. Having directed Depp in Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton seems confident that the 43 year-old can handle the role.

Sondheim wants more than Burton’s word; he wants to hear Depp’s voice before he offers his blessing. As a legendary composer of musicals Sondheim has remained steadfast in his demand for perfection. According to a spokesman the 76 year-old and nine time Tony Award winner “wants to make sure all versions of his works are the best possible.”

It will take some convincing before Sondheim’s allows his musical to be adapted into a cinematic version.

Music has been instrumental in Depp’s life as he has credited it as a vehicle out of teenage depression. He has been involved in music from the time he was thirteen when he joined his first band. Apparently Depp is humored by Sondheim’s apprehension. A close friend of Depp shared, “He finds it funny that there are questions about his voice as he has been singing all his life.”
   
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