Adolfo Pirelli

Adolfo Pirelli
Sacha Baron Cohen as Adolfo Pirelli
Portrayed by	Joaquin Romaguera (original 1979 Broadway cast) Donna Lynne Champlin (2005 Broadway revival) Sacha Baron Cohen (2007 film)
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Barber
Nationality	Irish/British (claims to be Italian)

Mr. Adolfo Pirelli (Signor Adolfo Pirelli in Italian), also known as Daniel O'Higgins or Davy Collins, is a fictional character from Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He is a supporting antagonist in the story and a rival barber to Sweeney Todd. He is eventually killed by Todd after he threatens him with extortion.

Pirelli is first introduced as an Italian barber who is "all the rage" in Victorian London. He is very theatrical and dresses in extravagant clothing. Pirelli often abuses his young apprentice, Tobias Ragg, slapping him across the face for the slightest infraction, and often for no reason at all. Pirelli claims to have shaved the King of Naples and the Pope, arrogantly referring to himself as "the King of the Barbers and the Barber of Kings."

His real name turns out to be Daniel O'Higgins, and he was Sweeney Todd's apprentice as a boy. Pirelli knows Todd's true identity as Benjamin Barker and threatens to expose him unless Todd pays him half of his profits. Todd kills Pirelli in an effort to keep his identity a secret.

The main character, Sweeney Todd, and his accomplice Mrs. Lovett are in a square where Pirelli's assistant, Tobias Ragg, is advertising a concoction of his master's entitled Pirelli's Miracle Elixir which is purported to stimulate the growth of hair. Todd takes one sniff of the mixture and denounces the Elixir as "an arrant fraud" concocted of "piss and ink."

Enraged, Pirelli emerges from his tent to berate Todd, who offers to wager his own straight razors against five pounds of Pirelli's money. Whoever shaves a person the most quickly and dexterously will win, with Beadle Bamford acting as judge. Pirelli proves to be quite a talented barber but wastes time bragging about his vast talent and superiority over all other barbers. Todd, on the other hand, actually concentrates on doing the job and, after carefully preparing his razors and mixing the lather perfectly, shaves the customer in a matter of seconds to win the bet. In some stage productions, a second contest is held, that of tooth extraction. When Pirelli cannot find anyone with a toothache, he hits Toby across the mouth and tries to pull out the thus sore tooth. Todd, of course, manages to pull his man's tooth more quickly and painlessly than Pirelli. Pirelli begrudgingly pays him five pounds.