Sarah Jessica Parker as Charity- Page 3

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 5:34pm

I think the revival would have been a fiasco regardless of who had been cast, simply because it was misconceived. Walter Bobbie's direction was mediocre at best and Cilento's choreography was disastrous to say the least.
Applegate and O'Hara made the evening passable but that's about it. The only reason I'd have liked Krakowski to stay with the role is because it'd have been nice to have a recording of Sweet Charity with her in the lead. I still think that it was admirable of her to refuse to say dialogue she found sexist as unprofessional as it may have seen.

[Carefree-Existence]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 5:36pm

Couldn't agree with you more on Walter and Wayne's work. Boring, boring, boring.

[Parks]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 5:38pm

Christina really surprised me in Sweet Charity. I thought her singing was probably her weakest spot. Her dancing was fabulous--she wasn't bad at all. Her acting was fabulous as well. I wish she would do the tour. She's a great Charity--and the fact that she was nominated for a Tony means that she couldn't have been the worst Charity out there. I'm looking forward to seeing Ringwald next summer. I'm hoping she will have improved on her dancing by then...

[justme2]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 6:30pm

She was a great Charity, and yes, the revival was a fiasco...from the moment the cast was announced, it was slammed for even daring to exist. The fact that the original creators were gone did nothing to stop the constant moaning that Fosse and Verdon weren't doing this revival, so why was it even happening.

For those who went to the show expecting to see Applegate as Charity, like myself, the show was very enjoyable, as many posts reported. For those with the Verdon/Fosse glasses permanently affixed to their heads, it was impossible to like anything about the show, from cast to creative team to sets to costumes.

I had no trouble understanding the love for Verdon and Fosse. I don't think anyone was contesting the talents of either. The trouble was the posts damning the show before they had even laid eyes on it, simply because it wasn't the Verdon/Fosse show, so why bother doing it.

And then the inevitable reviews that spent 4 paragraphs comparing the show to the 1966 version, then one paragraph on how they hated this version.

So yes, it was a fiasco.

[Carefree-Existence]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 6:40pm

And all I can say is if it isn't going to be better than the original or bring a new vision to the show- there is no need for a revival. I was actually very open to Christina Applegate until I saw it. If I wasn't, I would never have seen it. I never was interested in seeing Wayne Cilento's choreography because I've never liked anything he's ever done. I don't need the Fosse production...I would actually prefer to see something different. But I definetely didn't need to see Wayne and Bobbie's.
Updated On: 10/18/06 at 06:40 PM

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 6:47pm

Emcee, I haven't heard enough of Ringwald's singing to decide how good of singer she is, but I know that Parker is better than her. I respect that you want to keep the integrity of musicals intact. I also think that the best possible effort should be made to cast people who are up to the demands of their roles. If Molly Ringwald really is that terrible of a singer, then that's too bad, but if there are reviews of her performance out there that people can read and the show still sells tickets, then that's that. I don't have a problem with anyone bitching about untalented people being cast in shows, I do it, too, but it seems like it's something that's going to happen from time to time no matter what, whether we're talking about famous people or just unknown theater actors.

[justme2]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 6:51pm

And I, on the other hand, was thrilled to get the chance to finally see a staging of the show (having never seen a staging), as I love Coleman's music and thoroughly enjoyed Bobbie's earlier works. Especially White Christmas!

I can't say anything about Cilento...don't know too much of his work! Can't say I enjoyed all the choreography, either.
But to me, the show was NOT the disaster of epic porporations that it was made out to be.

[newsieboy23]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 6:56pm

SJP was interested in a PLAY at MTC at the time x-tina's contract was running out. That play obviously fell through. Reguardless, she was unavailible, remotely uninterested... required to train as a dancer, and over-all- out of the budget.

She was never formally offered the role for any/all of the reasons above.

Though she probably wouldnt have pulled the dancing off for a Broadway audience, she would easily be able to sell out the tour if she was interested. I am pretty confident that she has no interest in hotel life on tour, while her husband stays home.

[newsieboy23]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 6:57pm

SJP was interested in a PLAY at MTC at the time x-tina's contract was running out. That play obviously fell through. Reguardless, she was unavailible, remotely uninterested... required to train as a dancer, and over-all- out of the budget.

She was never formally offered the role for any/all of the reasons above.

Though she probably wouldnt have pulled the dancing off for a Broadway audience, she would easily be able to sell out the tour if she was interested. I am pretty confident that she has no interest in hotel life on tour, while her husband stays home.

[Al Dente]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 7:09pm

To the person who said that Parker had studied singing and dancing, I say, that doesn't make someone have TALENT! Parker has absolutely no singing "talent" and most likely would NEVER be able to pull off the dancing. Why there's a three page thread about it, is the better question.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 8:00pm

As far as the whole Krakowski thing goes, Neil Simon revising some of his dialogue probably wouldn't be a bad thing.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 8:03pm

Agreed. Krakowski had the right idea.