Sweet Charity. So Bad....- Page 4

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 3/6/05 at 10:55pm

I still have my doubts. But passing up an opporunity at a Charity would be unwise, I suppose...

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 12:09am

They should scrap the whole thing and start over.

[wildcat]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 8:23am

That's pretty much what happened here in Oz a few years ago. A production of CHARITY opened in Melbourne with new choreography, but public response was so negative that by the time it transferred to Sydney a couple of months later (with a new director and some minor recasting) most of the Fosse choreography had found its way back into the show.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 8:41am

As you can tell by now I didn't like this production. I'll say this and try not to say any more because by now it's like beating a dead horse. I've been in productions that were bombed and it's no fun reading the bad reviews.

My problem was not just with the choreography. I liked Cilento's work though I didn't understand why it quoted Fosse so much. I admire Cilento as a choreographer.

In this production there was nothing new. No new take on anything. It seemed very flat in direction. Almost like a high school production. The lines were recited (it seemed that some of the better actors were trying to make up for how bad the show was by over acting) and the sets changed. Nothing made me want to pay attention.

It also seemed as though everyone knew they were in the middle of a pile of rubble and mentally had their fingers crossed that they were wrong. That was draining to me as an audience member.

[wildcat]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 8:50am

The terrible thing about when a show is done badly is that it turns off a whole generation of theatregoers and no-one can touch that property again for ANOTHER twenty years.

Posted: 3/7/05 at 11:01am

Well the reviews are out and very decidedly mixed. Even though no one loves this production, the ticket sales are VERY STRONG. I tried to get tickets this weekend and the show was all but sold out--- scattered seats here and there but all the low-price tickets were gone and all but the corners of the main floor.

How is it selling in NYC? I know Miss Applegate has been a dynamo and has been all over the media here: This weekend she was on local TV news, did a LONG spot on a top morning radio show and I've seen interviews in all the local papers.

I finally settled on some cheap seats for next weekend so I can weigh in then.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 1:20pm

Matt - well written review.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 1:21pm

Matt, how was Schoeffler? i still can't wait to see this.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 2:34pm

Schoeffler was appropriately debonaire and a convincing Vittorio and he did receive an honorable mention in the Tribune. His Too Many Tomorrows was sumptuous. This mention in the Sun Times made me wonder if Heidi Weiss actually watched the scene or just read a synopsis of it while listening to the song:

"the Italian film star Vittorio Vidal (Paul Schoeffler, in full operetta mode), who treats her like a throwaway"

It was quite obvious in the scene that Vittorio treated her quite respectfully and that Charity instigated the antics that occurred as well as her exit. And what is "full operetta mode"? He's an Italian 1960s film Don Juan. What were they expecting? The song is somewhat operetta in style (which is stylistically appropriate in motivation), but it is only to serve as a background for the visual antics that go on with Charity. The whole scene was utterly charming and by the end of the show, you realize that Vittorio was probably the nicest man Charity has ever encountered.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 5:08pm

Thanks for the very well written review Matt. i am looking forward to this show.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 9:09pm

I was actually quite surprised by the Chicago critics. The bulk of both reviews were about the book which was never annouced as being heavily revised, so I'm not sure what they were expecting in this revival. They were much more forgiving of All Shook Up, which in its Chicago tryout, had more mudane and pedestrian choreography and whose book was riddled with inexplicable absudities. A small town goes nuts when a boy in jeans and a t-shirt rides up on a motorcycle, but hardly blinks an eye when a hot dame strolls in with a travelling art museum?

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 9:20pm

I didn't see All Shook Up, so I can't say why the critics were better to it than they were to SC.
This Sweet Charity was boring to me.
Perhaps All Shook Up was more interesting.
I have nothing against Applegate. I think she's quite beautiful and I am rooting for her. I know someone in the orchestra and he tells me she is nice and is working her butt off which is quite apparent. The problem is that Charity used to be a dancing role for an extremely charismatic dancer/actress.
I hope Applegate works on getting a sound of her own before the show gets to NYC. She sounds like Shirley MacLaine. I also hope they work on "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This". That number is very disapointing.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/8/05 at 7:40am

I saw the original SWEET CHARITY shortly after it opened and "Where Am I Going?" was still in it. Gwen Verdon was magnificent, as were John McMartin and Helen Gallagher. Yes, there was a certain cheesiness to it, but it fit the characters and the lifestyle that was being portrayed.

I also saw the Debbie Allen revival and loved it, also. I recall that the sets and costumes were pretty much the original designs.

Why does this new production have to tamper with perfection?

It makes me worry about what will happen when HELLO, DOLLY! is "re-conceived". Both DOLLY and CHARITY were the visions of director/choreographers. Their success was due to Gower Champion and Bob Fosse. The fact that CHARITY has a director and a choreographer splitting the duties makes me think that the production won't have the "flow" of the original.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:32pm

Bump!

[Marquise]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:42pm

Grind!

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:43pm

Hey Big Spender!

[Princeton78]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:46pm

Ugh...with CA falling and the 2 supporting actresses being replacedd..this is really starting to feel like a sinking ship.

[Marquise]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:46pm

FOSSE is cursing up a blue streak as we speak.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:48pm

Laughing, more likely.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:52pm

Oh! They're at the Pompeii Club now!
So cool!!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:54pm

I bet Glebb could dance a kick-ass "Something Bettter Than That"!

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 8:55pm

"Wow! This place sure is crawling with celebrities. I'm the only one here I've never heard of."

[Marquise]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 9:04pm

that girl with the long pony tail has one killer shimmy on her.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 9:08pm

I wish PalJoey!
You are one hundred per cent correct Marquise!

This film is a must for people interested but not yet acquainted with Sweet Charity.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 10:04pm

Chita and Paula = amazing!