yes, thebigkrakowski, the reviews speak for themselves....
and this is just a PORTION of the great review it got in Boston!
"As for Wayne Cilento's choreography, it was far better than one might have expected, given the man's spotty reputation; the dances were energetic and well focused, with just enough nods to the iconic signature moves of Bob Fosse (director-choreographer of the original production) to serve as an hommage rather than coming across as slavish imitation. Similarly, there were no major, obvious flaws in the direction of Walter Bobbie, whose track record is also far from stellar. That said, I imagine that the show would have been in even better shape by the time I saw it if, earlier on, Bobbie had been able to make stronger, wiser decisions in terms of the proposed changes to Sweet Charity's book and song stack. (As far as that goes, or went, he might have received greater support from lead producers Barry and Fran Weissler.)
In a recent New York Post article on the travails of this ill-fated production, Michael Riedel questioned the point of reviving Sweet Charity at all. He wrote that, "A handful of fine Cy Coleman tunes notwithstanding, the show is old-fashioned and second rate, and was never intended as anything more than a star vehicle for Fosse's wife, Gwen Verdon." Well, I beg to differ. Charity may be "old-fashioned" but, considering the lack of craft and talent evidenced in so many contemporary musicals, that's by no means a mark against it. As for its being "second rate," that might be true in comparison to such deathless masterpieces of musical theater as West Side Story and Carousel; but the fact remains that Sweet Charity is a wonderfully tuneful, funny, sad, skillfully constructed show that's absolutely first-rate in comparison to most of what we see on Broadway these days. For all the problems of the production that just died in Boston, it was good enough -- at least, with Charlotte d'Amboise in the lead -- that I'm truly sorry it won't make it to New York"
Go to Theatermania.com for the entire review. Or the Chicago Tribune. Or the Minnesota papers. The reviews were half and half until the Boston Globe slammed it (after the very public drama, mind you).
"My dreams, watching me said, one to the other...this life has let us down."
