SWEET CHARITY Revival — Page 12

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#276

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 10:53am

Well its really a question as to whether Sutton is enough of a draw (in spite of that not so great Brantley review) to warrant an eight- ten million dollar transfer. And yes, it would likely cost that much. There were other forces behind the LuPone GYPSY being transferred (mainly Arthur Laurents who called upon a life full of career favors because he wanted to direct what he considered to be the 'definitive' production of the show on Broadway before he died). And that production still lost money.

As to the questionable 'political' climate -- I think what that post infers is that in this time, where everyone is frightened about what's coming next, the last thing they might want to pay 140 dollars for on Broadway is a musical with a plucky heroine who is being knocked down at every turn and who is left (in this version) in a state of despair. Maybe they would revisit the ending to be more Broadway friendly, but I think its a valid question when you consider the financial prospects of mounting anything on Broadway 'right now'.

Updated On: 11/21/16 at 10:53 AM

#277

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 10:56am

So what's the final figure on the band size? Brantley says five, others say six, I could've sworn I counted 7 women playing instruments? What's the procedure for counting musicians?

#278

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 10:58am

I don't believe that the final moment of this show is a moment of despair; far from it. Again, I have no idea what show Ben Brantley was watching.

#279

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:07am

Well he was obviously watching a show filtered through his perception of the current political climate. True his is only one opinion, but if he feels it, there would likely be others who feel as he does too. But I really doubt this would transfer this season anyway. It's already been discussed in the press that Foster's shooting schedule on her TV show is problematic. I do wonder what kind of box office draw she is. This small Off Broadway production is selling well (in a tiny theatre) but her last two Broadway outings were both presented under a not-for-profit subscription based umbrella. So hard to say...

#280

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:17am

Plus, this season is already crowded enough.

#281

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:21am

Not unusually so. If Sutton can make it work, they should jump on Circle in the Square in the spring.

#282

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:23am

Would Sutton stand a chance for the Tony against Midler's Dolly?

#283

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:24am

But why would they want to try to jump to open this spring? It's not like they have a rave NY Times review they are trying to capitalize on and the season is absolutely jammed. What good would it do?

#284

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:25am

We haven't even seen Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! yet, but even if she does well in the role, there's still other strong potential candidates to come.

Updated On: 11/21/16 at 11:25 AM

#285

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:25am

BroadwayConcierge said: "Would Sutton stand a chance for the Tony against Midler's Dolly?"

Not downplaying any of Midler's talents or potential but she's yet to have one day of rehearsal so it really is too early to predict she's the front-runner.

#286

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:43am

For me it's more about making sure it lands in the only Broadway theater that would be ideal for this production, which will almost certainly be open before long.

#287

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 11:51am

Brantley's review is a nasty slap in the face to Joel Perez.

#288

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 12:17pm

This absolutely must transfer cause i want to see it so badly. It could also go into the Lyceum

#289

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 12:30pm

Transfer or not I could care less. I've seen it and can do so again until it's limited run ends. I love where it's at right now and moving it to anything larger will ruin the intimate staging created for it. All I ask for is an Off-Broadway Cast Recording. That's all.

#290

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 12:46pm

Are tickets still available for the Off Broadway run? I thought I read here it was completely sold out...

#291

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/21/16 at 12:50pm

Daily ticket releases happen hours before a performance. A few friends have been able to get tickets same-day to sold-out performances. You just need to be on top of it until a same-day ticket release happens. Could be in the morning; could be midday; could be in the afternoon.

#292

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/22/16 at 3:56am

If ever there were a role that was perfect for someone, this is it for Sutton.

#293

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/22/16 at 8:12am

Does anyone know if Sweet Charity is collecting yet? And if so, what?

#294

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/23/16 at 11:11am

Caught this last night and wowza, it was so damn good. As someone said above, this role is practically made for Sutton. Also, I really hated that wig at first, but it kind of grew on me? I’m praying that this transfers so I can see Sutton perform “If They Could See Me Now” again, and hopefully it’ll get a cast recording. Such a great production.

#295

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 11/23/16 at 11:28am

I caught this last night as well. For those interested, the box office is doing a cancellation line and is selling tickets first come first serve starting an hour before the show. I got in right at 7:30 *curtain time* promptly.

My thoughts:

Sutton Foster, who in the wig looks rather like a grown up Pippi Longstocking is fabulous. While I'm not sure that I could 100 percent ever buy her as a girl as 'dumb' as Charity; her earnestness and sweetness win out and I thought this was easily one of her best stage performances. Shuler Hensley is equally terrific and believable as Oscar. The intimacy between audience and performer was palpable

Their scenes together make for the most moving and personal I've seen in any production of this musical, and I think scene work is really where Leigh Silverman excels as a director. I must say, however, that taking a cue from Arther Laurents who once criticized Sam Mendes for not having a 'musical bone in his body' -- for me that is also true of Ms. Silverman's work here. Outside of the strong scene work direction, this production doesn't have, to my eye a strong sense of united musical vision - which is a problem when you are taking on a concept piece famously rendered by Bob Fosse. I wasn't impressed by the choreography at all. Showstoppers like "Big Spender" and "The Rich Man's Frug" were here reduced to uninteresting meandering around the stage. Big Let Down. As others have pointed out, the reduced orchestrations sound pretty much like what you would expect to hear in an amateur or junior college production. The supporting cast for me was nothing special and while I didn't see the evening as being as dour as Ben Brantley did, I've seen other endings (including the original "good fairy ending") that I think work better than the ending they have selected here

I don't see a strong need for this to transfer, but if it were to, I'd echo the Time Out Review that feels that Sutton in this role deserves a better production around her. I'd love to see her in a production that uses the original Fosse choreography and Broadway orchestrations.

Updated On: 11/23/16 at 11:28 AM

#296

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 12/1/16 at 7:40pm

I saw this last night and liked but didn't love it. Sutton was extremely well cast and is certainly giving a star performance, she is absolutely the main reason to see the show. I really enjoyed the set, it actually worked quite well.
.

The good: preserving more of the original book than the 2005 revival, using the original staging with "Marvin" in the Soliloquy, adding Charity to Big Spender (fantastic change), and creating an entertaining "I'm a Brass Band" without a brass band. Entire cast was quite good, although I felt Perez made more of a mark than Hensley.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the score loses much of its charm without full orchestrations, even the 2005 revival sounded good, albeit having new orchestrations that were a bit too bubblegum. The biggest blunder was slowing down the charming title song and cutting the perky chorus parts at the end. The song lost its bouncy feel and came off pretty boring.
I did not like turning "Where am I going?" into a pop chorus number. I like placing it in the finale, but the arrangement was bizarre, and the ending was a bit of a downer. I don't think we need the good fairy ending or the cheesy girl power ending of the 2005 revival, but I still like my Charity dancing off into the sunlight expressing her never-ending optimism.

I could see it transferring based mostly on Foster's performance. She really is perfect for the role, and I was skeptical at first. A transfer would certainly need better orchestrations and some actual brass, and I would like to see the ending reworked.

Updated On: 12/1/16 at 07:40 PM

#297

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 12/1/16 at 8:37pm

"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)

#298

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 12/2/16 at 1:59pm

Sutton's co-directing a production of Shrek for Ball State University according to this article

Their website says it will run "March 31 and April 1, 2, 4-8 at 7:30pm; April 2, 8 at 2:30pm"

This might might meant Sutton will be slightly busy late winter when we're expecting Charity to transfer. The timeline doesn't necessarily prohibit the transfer, but something to keep in mind.

Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.

#299

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 12/2/16 at 2:01pm

I don't think we're expecting a Spring 2017 transfer. That basically confirms it. Fall 2017 is a different story.

"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards

#300

SWEET CHARITY Revival

Posted: 12/2/16 at 3:40pm

Speaking of Sweet Charity, I am semi obsessing with this particular video. The lady playing the Lead Frug dancer is amazing! Who is that fabulous person wearing the white gloves? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-HDIMF344Y

That is the fabulous Jill Nicklaus as the lead Frug dancer in the final/closing cast of FOSSE. The filmed performance was shot a few weeks before the show closed on Broadway in late August 2001 (about 2 weeks before the events of 9/11). I actually attended the final Broadway performance of FOSSE. Jill also was a dancer in Madonna's 1993 THE GIRLIE SHOW World Tour.

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