Sweet Charity/Debbie Allen

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 4:14am

Did anyone ever hear or see Debbie as Charity? What did you think?

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 8:24am

I saw Debbie Allen as Charity in the mid-1980's. She was actually fantastic. I did not expect that, but I was very pleasantly surprised. She was sweet, funny, a great dancer (obviously) and she could really sing. Excellent. And she had a lot of chemistry with the male lead, played by the terrific and adorable Michael Rupert.

[timote316]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 8:59am

For the most part, she's very enjoyable on the cast recording. Nothing against Gwen or Christina, but having a Charity who can sing well really adds a new dimension to the score.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 9:08am

She is definitely the best sung Charity.

But Gwen will always be the ultimate Charity. It's too bad Gwen started suffering vocally during Charity (with the feathers and all..)

The OBCR is still the best recording. The Debbie album is enjoyable, but it's too bad Coleman synthesized most of it, which takes a lot away.

Still love Debbie though.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 10:05am

Debbie is great, but the Orchestrations on the cast recording are a tad peculiar. Still, it's a great cast, and worth having.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 10:33am

I saw Debbie on Broadway only a few days after this opened. She was fantastic in the part. A true triple threat. I will agree with others who've said this was a "surprise" to them. Debbie was "Miss Fame," back then... and her sassy I-know-more-than-you-do, (even bitchy) TV persona hardly lent itself to ideal casting for the eternal optimism of Charity Hope Valentine. Debbie proved here that she was (after all) an actress. She was completely convincing and charming as Charity, and kept the character's balance between street-wise savvy, self-deprecating humor, and hopeful naivete. (This last trait was the biggest surprise for her to pull off, which she did beautifully and it was very touching at times.) And her singing and dancing (in particular) were first-rate. I remember being COMPLETELY blown away by her kicks during "I'm a Brass Band," plus the trio on Something Better Than This... well, there was NOTHING better than this.

It was a terrific revival all around, as well. I remember particularly how funny and touching Michael Rupert was. And his voice soared with romance on the title song.

(Note: Bebe Neuwirth was good and funny, but I was totally in love with Pattti Cohenour that year as "Rosabud" in Edwin Drood, and every other supporting female performance took a backseat to her, IMO, including Bebe.)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 10:39am

I saw her and she was a really irrepressable dynamo on stage -- her stamina was remarkable. While she was perhaps a bit "short-limbed" compared to the classic Fosse dancers (Haney, Verdon, Reinking) with their long lines, she nevertheless made the choreography her own and truly lit up the stage. She also handled the comedy well and her singing was fine -- though I disagree that hers was the best sung Charity. I've never heard the Allen cast album, but live her voice was rather reedy and lacked the character and nuance Verdon was able to bring to the score on the OBC album. Allen sounded solid enough, but personally I much more prefer Verdon's quirky vulnerability which suits the character better.

[once a month]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 2:52pm

When I saw her do this show, it was during my 'homage to Fosse'. I also saw Big Deal and first bought the videos of Pippin and Sweet Charity. It's embarressing to me how I can recall the production, and I have no memory of Bebe whatsoever, and she's a particular favorite of mine. I miss Fosses stuff, but to me he ultimately always worked on a show about someone reaching for their dreams, who nearly achieve them, but loses them anyway. Except for DANCIN that is, which was purely a celebration of the Broadway hoofer razzle-dazzling. After experiencing DANCIN twice when it opened, seeing FOSSE (the show) years later was downright anti-climatic!

Updated On: 1/23/06 at 02:52 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/23/06 at 5:06pm

I saw Debbie Allen in the role and loved her very much. Yes, I'd seen Gwen Verdon, but Debbie was sensational--far superior to the talented (but miscast) Christina Applegate.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 12:04am

I thought Debbie Allen's dancing was top notch and she sang well. However I felt her Charity was cold as ice and lacked the requisite vulnerabilty that I feel defines Charity. Christina Applegate's moving interpretation touched my heart. She was a perfect Charity and proved to also be a deft comedienne. I also liked Ann Reinking in the role who replaced Allen. Reinking is my favorite Broadway dancer. So unique.