Trivia: During its first month of production in London, Johnny Depp had to take a ten-day leave of absence when his daughter, Lily-Rose, was rushed to a hospital due to a severe illness (which was never disclosed by the media). To accommodate his absence, director Tim Burton filmed scenes that didn't feature Depp's character.
Trivia: Anthony Stewart Head (of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fame) makes a cameo as the man who congratulates Sweeney after his competition against Signor Pirelli. Head originally had a larger role, but his scenes were eventually cut out. (00:38:25)
Trivia: Even though they play mother and daughter in this film, Laura Michelle Kelly is only six years older than Jayne Wisener.
Answer: From what I heard, the chorus songs (known as "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd") were cut due to time and inability to make the chorus work on-screen. Actors were set up to play "ghost narrators" at first, so that indicates that the filmmakers did want to include the songs. They were just not able to find a way to make them work satisfactorily for them. Also, I think (can't verify) I also heard that Stephen Sondheim, the show's original creator and composer/lyricist, agreed that these cuts needed to be made for the film to work.