Sweet Charity

I am musical directing 'Sweet Charity' later this year and am looking for some advice.

First up, is there a better printed version of the score available anywhere. I am find the handwritten score difficult to read and is not very piano friendly as it is a reduction of the orchestra score.

Secondly, I am doing this on a tight budget and in a small space. Which parts should I prioritise and which can I cope without. Was thinking along the lines of using Reeds 1, 2 & 3, Trumpet 1 & 2, Trombone 1, Bass, Percussion 1.

Finally, there is a section on the recordings of 'You Should See Yourself' that is not in the score. It's the bit about "bedroom sets". Is this only in professional versions?

Jesus, dramamama are you always such a bitch with people on here if they aren't "Broadway Legends"?

A lot of scores for orchestra you license are handwritten--in fact it's often the standard.

I *think* that part of You Should See yourself was dropped by the time of the tour. I know some stuff was--like the Soliloquy (which I love but Gwen found too hard to perform in a show she found pretty draining).

The qualification comment was rude. So what if needs help. It's a small budget. You made it sound like he was being cheap by being the director.

I was a co-director of a production. We used the original script from TAMS. I used the prompting book for book scenes. My co-director was the choreographer. And we had a separate musical director/conductor. We ended up with I believe a 19 piece orchestra, because the budget allowed it.

In "You Should See Yourself" the "bedroom sets" is part of the intro dialog. It's not part of the song.

But be aware of lots of musical interludes in the opening scene after Charity is pushed into the lake. Two lines and then music. Repeatedly. The earlier your practice with the music, the better.
Also, the nightclub scene also has bits of music between bits of dialog. Me, the choreographer and music director had been so split up with differing focuses that putting it together got a little bit difficult at first.
(Then there was a small book scene I'd missed to block - because the choreographer and I had a miscommunication over who was doing those pages! which we discovered the first time we tried to run Act One in full).

BTW, we did the Soliloguy.