Sweet Charity 2005 Revival: What Went Wrong? — Page 3

Sweet Charity is already a bad show in the genre of hit shows like 42nd St. and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Though the sets were very cool, the choreography was good community theater choreography and the stars were not so good as to pull an ok show. If someone as strong as Sutton Foster was the lead, it may have gone a little farther.

It had a tryout performance in Minneapolis and was a total disaster. The producers had no respect for the material and managed to kill all character development by cutting numbers. You Should See Yourself, which sets up Charity's character was cut and the show opened with Big Spender. By doing so, Charity is set up as a tramp, but you can't really care for her.

Sets and costumes were wrongheaded choices. They hauled out this long couch and counter piece for If My Friends Could See Me Now and she NEVER DANCED ON TOP OF IT! What was the point of the set piece?

Most of the secondary characters were pushed in the backdrop, so Charity's friendships with Nicky and Helene were eliminated. Christina Applegate tried hard, and was as good as she could be, but she was merely channeling Shirley MacLaine, presumably because she had no direction.

A few years before this revival I saw a high school production that one of my students was in. The thing lasted 4 hours, but it was better than this revival.
Overall, the show was a disaster. I'm surprised it opened and played as long as it did, because it was terrible.

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Updated On: 2/23/07 at 09:32 PM

I forgot that they opened with Big Spender! what a crackpot of an idea! Good lord! How logn did that last? The peoplehave already paid their 100 dollars--it's not liek they're gonna walk out if they don't hear Big Spender in the first 20 mins...

My sister saw the revival tour and hated it (though she didn't see Applegate.) She thought that it was one of the dumbest shows ever. Reading a synopsis, I'm inclined to agree with her, and have no desire to see it when the tour with Molly Ringwald hits my city.

I actually saw the Tonys performance, and to say that the choreography is "bland" doesn't even begin to describe it. I was so unbelievably bored during that performance. Then again, maybe it was Christina Applegate. Or both.

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Updated On: 2/24/07 at 11:23 AM

Ray I agree--I list Charity as a "problem show" I love because I think it (like maybe Pippin?) only really works in its original production--partly because Fosse, while he didn't write it was the guy who came up witht eh concept and his stagings were written into the original work from the beginning--it's as much a part of the show IMHO as the book or songs--more so than many other major productions of musicals.

What DVD has the SUllivan clip of Brass Band? I have about 9 tapes of Sullivan clips and have the two from Sweet Charity which are great but would love a DVD quality