Applegate's "Charity" CD--ugh!

Well the role dosen't exactly call for Ethel Merman.

And she's only flat on 1 or 2 songs.

She sounds much better live, in my opinion. Her voice has gotten a lot stronger over this time.

i have the cd and i dont recall her being flat at all in any of the songs..she really isn't that bad of a singer..of course she isn't the best either but her voice works for the part. it's written for a none singer...i really don't think Gwen Verdon's voice was all that graceful either but she worked for the part too.

Well.. there is a reason why Gwen sounds like that on Charity. She was a fine vocalist before Charity. But before Charity got to Broadway something very tragic happened to Gwen's voice. Her voice was becoming very strained, and she was finding it extremely hard to sing, and eventually she could barely sing. So it turned out she had a feather from one of the costumes wrapped around her vocal chords - and after that her voice was severly effected by this. And that's why she sounds so raspy. Very sad, and it only got worse with CHICAGO.

But with that being said - Charity still dosen't call for a "great" singer. It calls for a female who can carry a tune on pitch. GREAT singers can play Charity to - Debbie Allen's vocals for Charity were AMAZING in the first revival. There is a lot you can do with the part.

Christina is great.

I didn't know the story behind Gwen Verdon's voice decadence, it is sad indeed, especially for someone who was considered a major triple threat.
On the topic of the CD, I actually enjoyed Applegate's songs. I think her voice is not amazing or astonishing but she provides emotion to her songs which I think is the most important thing when it comes to musical theater performance. Her performance indeed sounds better than the CD. I think that mainly what hurts this album are the orchestrations and the arrangements in some of the songs like "Rhythm of Life." Dennis O'Hare sounds great as Oscar and even Janine LaManna and Kyra DaCosta sound ok.

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I'm afraid I disagree - I love the CD, and only truly notice the flat pitch at the end of I'm The Bravest Individual, with Denis. I think she makes a fantastic Charity (I saw the show twice in a week I enjoyed her performance so much!) She isn't a singer, but I would much rather listen to her being flat for one or two notes than listen to a raspy lady trying to play 'Sweet' Charity. Gwen Verdon, to me, sounds like a 60 year-old hooker - no offence. Christina IS Sweet Charity.

Mary P x

You wouldn't even have Sweet Charity or Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity if it wasn't for Gwen Verdon who, for the record, was only a few years older than Applegate is now, when she played the role.

Don't get me wrong - Gwen IS Charity. And there's no comparing Christina's dancing to Gwen's. Christina is not a 'a dancer" but she can move OK. And Christina is cute and likeable in the role.

Personally, I liked Charlotte D'Amboise (a wonderful dancer) in the role.

Well it was never a secret that she has trained in dance for over 20 years.

But it's obvious she obviously put acting first in her career, and that was the right thing.

I do agree that we probally can't see the best of her skills with that choreogaphy.

If Griffith takes over the role - I can't wait to see people finally appreciate what Appleagate did.

Charlotte D'Amboise made this choreography look pretty darn good...

I must be going crazy but weren't there plans at one point for D'Amboise to record at least one track as a bonus or am I making that up?

"and as far as Christina's vocals go, it should be remembered that Charity is a character role and, with only a couple exceptions, has been played by character actresses with character singing voices. I find her work more than sufficient."

^Couldn't agree more!

I counted about five flat notes in Applegate's opening number alone before I gave up, as well as lots of vocal scooping and dipping. I was grateful afterward when she spoke-sung or chopped notes short. I could have forgiven all that if she had been bubbling over with personality, but all I heard was a thin, characterless, undifferentiated drone of a voice. Gwen Verdon vocally acts the role so superbly you don't notice her vocal eccentricities. I sincerely hope Applegate IS better live.

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