Sweet Charity Ending Question- Page 2

Posted: 3/30/07 at 2:13am

SO confused--so where was the hippie ending used?

[SuddenlyTrey]

Posted: 4/22/08 at 8:50pm

From my understanding the original ending in the out of towns, Chairty committed suicide in the lake... she never climbed back out. Since it was rather harsh the producers made Fosse and Simon change the ending to something "more fairy tale like" so they wrote the horrid Good Fairy bit as a joke for Ruth Buzzi to drive home the fact that life isn't a fairy tale... but alas the producers LOVED the good fairy and it remained until the movie and subsequent revivals.

And no other rights are released to the show other than the original 66 copyright. So any other endings and the ferris wheel bit are illegal.... unfortunately. (Unless of course you are doing it on Broadway with Christina Applegate)

Updated On: 4/22/08 at 08:50 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 4:28am

I saw a local production of Sweet Charity on Saturday night and had never seen it before. I knew it didn’t have a happy ending, and I gather there have been many different versions over the decades.

Here’s the one I got: Oscar breaks it off, Charity ends up in the lake, Oscar leaves, Charity gets out of the lake and sings ‘Where Am I Going?’ - not heard until then. That’s basically the ending of the show, aside from a version of ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ sang after the bows. There was no fairy. No reprise of ‘I’m the Bravest Individual.’

I have glanced at YouTube since getting home and saw various versions. This seems to be one of those shows where revivals and local productions choose their own ending.

I enjoyed the production and the actress who played Charity was wonderful. But there’s something that felt unearned about the unhappy ending. I gather that the source material was even darker.

I realize this is a Bob Fosse musical we’re talking about, but I’m not sure what purpose is served by the downbeat conclusion. It is perhaps more realistic, especially in the 1960s, and I understand that Charity is a resilient character who looks on the bright side even then. Still, there was a definite and off-putting sense that Charity kind of deserved to be punished because of her occupation - even though she is portrayed as a charming innocent. 

I’m glad I saw the musical, which has much to recommend it - fine songs and performances, famous choreography, the hilarious elevator scene. But it’s a musical comedy! The ending feels unnecessarily sour.

I know, I know. I am complaining about a 1966 musical. It’s a revival. But it was new to me.

Updated On: 6/29/25 at 04:28 AM

[Mskuphantm]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 4:46am

Even prior to Fosse and Neil simon  Italian film maker Federick Fellini made a movie and basically she makes the same mistakes and no matter what, ends up with a guy similiar to the one she met in the beginning, which for me proves, if youend up on the same situation and dont think you are the problem, or  dont change the way you have been doing, you dont change your outcome..  Or in even simpler terms doing the same thing over and over again will give you the same result...Fellini made movies to prove a point, of course.   As far as the Fairy and Abc i always put it as adverisement in a film subliminal messaging so to speak.or even Chairty losing her mind and everything that happened after she FIRST was pushed in lake in beginning everything that followed was a dream type moment, and she again awoke in the lake from the first encounter and the fairy was just some lingering dream image between dream and awake

Updated On: 6/29/25 at 04:46 AM

[inception]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 9:47am

Fosse always had the problem of not knowing how to end a show.  The ending he came up with originally for Pippin was equally unsatisfying.   The ending used now is better.

Even All That Jazz - he has his alter ego die from a heart attack because he refuses to make any changes & is still smoking etc while in the hospital for bypass surgery.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 9:52am

I saw the tour with Paige Davis back in 2006 and the Off-Broadway revival with Sutton Foster back in 2015. I enjoyed both productions quite a bit (aside from the tiny band and orchestrations used for the Off-Broadway revival - the kazoos in "I'm a Brass Band" was not a great choice IMO).

The 2006 tour used the "I'm the Bravest Individual" reprise.

The 2015 Off-Broadway revival used the "Where Am I Going?" reprise.

I think I preferred the "I'm the Bravest Individual" reprise.

All in all, it's a fun and fluffy show with some good ear worms in the score.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 9:58am

The film this musical is loosely based upon, Night of Cabiria, is one of the greatest masterpieces ever made. It has the best ending in cinematic history.

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 10:00am

There’s also the Neil Simon in the room. Simon didn’t like to end his musicals with a finale: Sweet Charity, Little Me and Promises Promises all had sung finales added in revivals, which originally ended with dialogue scenes and playoff music.

[inception]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 10:01am

Something else I just thought about was that even when it originally played Broadway,  you might get a different show on different nights because depending on how she was feeling Gwen Verdon would cut whole numbers from some performances. 

Chita Rivera played Charity for the first tour,  and still did select numbers from the show in her nightclub act when I saw that in 2014. It was a thrill.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 10:38am

Gwen only cut “Where Am I Going?” from certain performances - a song she always felt uncomfortable singing. She never cut any other songs ever. This is well documented and not speculation:

“Cy Coleman explained to writer Robert Viagas how Broadway star Gwen Verdon used to cut the song "Where Am I Going?" from SWEET CHARITY. "Our leading lady, Gwen Verdon, wanted to cut the number because she said she was already dancing too much and was too tired ... She used to cut it sometimes.  She would just decide not to do it that day.  What were we going to do? Fire Gwen Verdon?”

[inception]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 10:41am

Thanks for the clarification 

[altonido]

Posted: 6/29/25 at 5:38pm

Some "Sweet Charity" endings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSYCqU07F5Q&t=881s