Emcee's SWEET CHARITY review- Page 2

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 2:53pm

"which would've worked much better than just having them sing it backstage!"

But I thought they were supposed to be a choir of heavenly angels, looking down on them from above!! Or something like that...

I haven't decided if I like the ending or not yet. On one hand, yes, I think it is better for today's audiences. On the other, I absolutely adore Oscar, and I don't like not liking him... if that makes sense.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 2:58pm

ljay, if you would have put them onstage you would have lost the whole scaling of the feris wheel...it would have been totally out of preportions.......

i saw it again yesterday... loved it even more..... um have to say that Joyce Chittick needs to be mentiond because she has some of the most hilarious moments..... she steals the show at moments.... what a great charecter actress she is 100% in it at al times....

only problem i had is that Christina tended to mummble a tiny bit..... i think she needs to work on diction alittle...but i still LOVE her.....she had me cryign again during where am i going and the reprise of I'm the Bravest Individual

[justme2]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 2:59pm

I would not have wanted the task of attempting to update the ending of Charity's story for audiences today. No matter what the creative team chose, they would have gotten flack for it. And, they are indeed getting flack.

*SPOILER ALERT*
The ending they went with makes sense, though. She is "her own person" after all she goes through, and realizes that she doesn't need to be attached to a man to attain happiness. It's modern and, to agree with lijay, much better than having that damn fairy ending....
*END SPOILER*

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:00pm

You have a point Bwaybaby, but I think in the original, they had the ensemble on stage when they were stuck in the parachute jump. I'm not positive though.

I agree Joyce is FANTASTIC! She definetly steals many scenes. I love her.

[Kevo711]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:03pm

if anyone has seen both cristina and charolotte as charity, whose performance did you enjoy more?

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:20pm

Is Charlotte even the standby anymore? Because she is not listed anywhere in the playbill, and IBDB lists her as standby but says "was replaced in previews." Im confused.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:21pm

i was readign an artical in my New York magazine...and she kind of is..... she will only play it if Christina goes on vacation

[Kevo711]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:23pm

thats what i was wondering too... because on broadway.com if you go to the chicago page then it shows a picture of her in that.. so i'm pretty sure shes in Chicago... but i just thought i'd ask who was more enjoyable because someone mentioned charolotte before

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:24pm

Interesting. So say Christina calls in sick, they will put Dylis Croman on?
Updated On: 6/30/05 at 03:24 PM

[Kevo711]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:26pm

broadway.com says this- Charlotte d'Amboise, Roxie Hart-
d'Amboise made recent news when she stepped in for injured Christina Applegate in the title role of Sweet Charity. Now she's back on the boards as Roxie

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:27pm

i guess so....

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 3:51pm

I also have another question : To those who saw it in MN or Chicago.

How was the song "If There Were More People Like You?" Was it a good song to showcase Nickie? Was it good, or was "...Cry at Weddings" missed?

[NBC]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 4:38pm

When IBDB says Charlotte was replaced in previews, it means she was replaced in the title role by Christina, not that she was replaced as the standby - I'm pretty sure she still is the standby. However I have no idea what the procedure is for when she would be called to go on versus Dylis Croman.

(And just for the record, I did prefer Charlotte in the role, but then watching her dance just makes me happy for some reason.)

I'd also like to single out Joyce Chittick...I would like to see her go on as Nicki, maybe she'll do Bryant Park this summer.

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:22pm

I saw Joyce Chittick Do Nikki in the show and I do have to say she was fabulous. I much prefer her to Ms. LaManna. I've seen the show 4 times once with ms. Chittick as Nikki. Ms LaManna has a terrible problem with stubbling over her lines.
Ms. Chittick is a Shining star and producers need to figure out that she is being lost to being an ensemble member when she so obviously deserves to be a main or supporting cast member. Does everyone remember her portrayal of Frenchie in the revival of Cabaret..... and How she ended up being the poster girl for the broadway and touring companies advertisements for a while. There is star written all over her.

[justme2]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:36pm

Anyone here see Joyce in Wonderful Town or Thoroughly Modern Millie? I was checking her IBDB listing and I didn't remember her from either of those shows..was she ensemble in them as well?

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:41pm

Joyce was Helen in the Revival of Wonderful Town. Helen is a pretty chunky role, no singing though. I saw WT with Brooke, and I believe Joyce was gone by the time I saw the show.
Updated On: 6/30/05 at 07:41 PM

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:42pm

In wonderful town she was in the ensemble, not as noticable in that show except that when she comes on stage at one point she is dragged in by one of the boys during an early dance #. and in millie during the party scene when Muzzy is introduced she plays a women with a deep voice / a la lesbian.
Wonderful in both.

[fengshuihellnyc]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:43pm

this is true. Ms. Chittick had left by the time brook was in the show.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:43pm

I certainly don't know enough to join in, sadly, but I'm glad my review sparked such great discussion!

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 7:44pm

I should've said before, Joyce understudied Helen in WT. In her playbill bio they just say she played Helen.

[sports620]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:05pm

"First and foremost, Christina Applegate. Her acting and dancing are, dare I say, rather glorious. She IS Charity Hope Valentine - sweet, quirky and undoubtedly lovable from the start. Christina truly can't sing, though. She's putting an irritating touch of vibrato on short notes, and sounds like she's trembling inside, and tends be more than slighlty off-pitch and squeaky, when it sounds like she's using some sort of character voice. It's strange, though, that when she sustains a note, with what seems like little effort even, her voice can actually be very pretty"

Emcee- I completely agree. Her voice was all over the place but there were a few notes, where she lost the character actress voice and her singing was actually really nice. I wish that would have happened more.

I saw the show Wed nite and went in with very low expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed it. Christina’s acting ability and comedic timing totally carry the show. Of course there are many people on broadway who could have sung the role 100 times better, but they may have lacked the unique qualities that Christina brings to the role. I’ve heard all the negative comments about her singing but I realized her voice doesn’t have to be that strong for this role. If it were on Bway with someone who was a great singer but lacked the unique star quality that Christina brings, I think this show would have flopped a long time ago. I think she is doing a wonderful job, she completely lets you feel for her character and I think that if you leave the theater with that feeling, then the actors have done their job. Even if she is a ‘name’, she is selling tickets and opening up the broadway world to a whole new group of people.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:06pm

I just got the CD. She sounds decent, I guess.... kind of weak, but at least the pitch is semi-there.

[justme2]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:28pm

No CD yet....must wait out here in CA land.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 4:03pm

Nice review Emcee...

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 4:12pm

Lets not forget people, Charity was created for one of the best nonsingers of all time And has been played by other legendary nonsingers also.

It makes me laugh a little, that some people go into Charity, expecting the character to call for this great singing, and big range - but it's the total opposite. Christina sings the role just how is was written - all it calls for is a female who can sing in tune, and hold a few notes.