Sweet Charity First Preview: My Review

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:14am

Ok, before I begin my review I would like to share some background information. I have been obsessing over this production for a year now and bought tickets for April 4th months ago. I specifically took my vacation from work around the first preview of Sweet Charity ( 4/4 – 4/8 ) so I would not have to go to work the next day. Of course, we all know what happened and the first preview was last night, April 11th. Yes, I did see last night’s first preview and I am at work right now…on four hours sleep. I am extremely tired and feel kind of sick, but last night was completely worth it.

As soon as the orchestra began the overture, I got chills. Then, when Charlotte D’Amboise walked out on the stage, the audience went crazy…applause for at least two minutes. It was magical. Charlotte really deserved that warm welcome. And she proved herself throughout the evening.

It was fantastic seeing Janine LaManna back on stage. I loved her in Seussical and she was excellent in Sweet Charity. Kyra DaCosta was also amazing. Big Spender was extremely well done. It was similar to how it was done in Fosse. As soon as the number began, there was wild applause. The ensemble was really into it tonight. I’m sure all of them were so excited to get in front of an audience again after thinking that March 27th was their final performance. I could tell that they were really enjoying themselves.

I also really enjoyed Rich Man’s Frug. I absolutely loved all the dancing…but the costumes were kind of strange. I’m not sure how I feel about the purple feather hat that the lead girl was wearing. I know others liked it though.

The scene in Vittorio’s apartment was hilarious! I was sitting in the right orchestra row G and I had a perfect view of Charity inside Vittorio’s closet. Her comedic timing was right on. She was so funny when she was smoking in the closet and also when she hid inside the coat so Ursula couldn’t see her. Brilliant! Oh, and Vittorio’s really long red couch was absolutely hilarious and a great addition to the show.

There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This was incredible. Janine, Kyra and Charlotte worked so well together. I love the song, the dancing was great, and Kyra was so funny when she was singing about aspiring to be a hat check girl.

The elevator scene was also very funny. Denis O’Hare was over the top. He was totally freaking out in the elevator and the entire audience was cracking up. Denis and Charlotte played off of each other so well.

Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed with The Rhythm of Life. I didn’t like the lighting and I don’t think I liked the lead singer very much. I love this song on the original recording, but I thought it lacked something last night.

Denis O’Hare’s new song was cute. I guess they just wanted to give him another song. It was called A Good Impression and also featured a quartet of street sweepers. Cute, but not very memorable.

Baby Dream Your Dream was fantastic. (Can you tell I loved Janine and Kyra?) Their voices blend well and the end of the song gave me chills. I wonder how the other two girls were. (the ones from MN and IL who were fired) From people’s reviews, they were both excellent. I wonder if we will ever find out why they were really fired. Were they upstaging Christina? Who knows.

The ferris wheel scene was so cute. I loved how Oscar was scared in the elevator and Charity was scared of heights. They were both able to comfort each other in a time of need. Too bad they didn’t end up together forever.

I’m A Brass Band was good, but I don’t know if I liked the costumes. Charlotte can really dance. I was so happy for her. She really deserved this chance. It is so sad though that they are just using her until Christina’s foot is healed.

I was glad to see that I Love to Cry at Weddings was added back into the show. Ernie Sabella really didn’t have much to do in this production, but I was glad to see he had a song.

I loved how they ended the show…with Charity’s silhouette up center stage with a red background…very powerful. During the curtain call, Charlotte got a standing ovation and tons of applause. The audience really loved her. I am definitely excited to see Christina in the role as well. I think she will do a great job, but probably not as good as Charlotte.

Of course, I waited at the stage door. I got autographs from all of the leads. Everyone was so nice, and I heard members of the ensemble saying that they were all just so happy to still be working. This whole ordeal must have been so crazy for them.

Oh, and I also brought my Carrie souvenir program, which Charlotte was happy to sign.

Some quick notes about the differences between the Boston production and the New York production: You Should See Yourself was not in Boston, but is in NY. I Love to Cry at Weddings is in the NY production, but in Boston, there was a song in that slot called If There Were More People Like You. I wonder if that song was any good. Also, Charity’s reprise at the end of the show is different. I was glad to see that Charlotte got her own playbills printed. Granted, they were in black and white, but at least they didn’t have Christina’s face on them and just have an insert for Charlotte. In Boston, all of the playbills had Christina’s face on them, even though Charlotte played Charity in the entire Boston run.

Overall, I was very impressed with the show. I already have tickets for May 7th and I can’t wait to see Christina. Thank god this production did not close in Boston!

PS: My friend, who lives in Boston saw the “final performance” on March 27th and he bought a poster and waited at the stage door and got Charlotte, Denis and Christina to sign it for me. Christina ever personalized it and wrote “To Alberto, You haven’t seen the last of me yet! Christina Applegate.” And this was before she knew the show was re-opening! The poster is not framed and hanging on my wall in my room. Thanks to Walter for thinking of me. I LOVE musical theater!!!
Updated On: 4/12/05 at 11:14 AM

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:19am

GREAT review, thanks!:)

To answer your question about the two original girls - Natasha Diaz and Solange Sandy were both good singers and dancers, but they really didn't seem to have a connection with Christina. It seemed like them vs her all the time, and rumor has it the backstage situation between them wasn't too pleasant.

Here's my question, which new actress plays which part? Is Janine Nickie?

Thanks again. Great to hear that Charlotte is getting welcomed as well as Christina.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:24am

Janine plays Nickie. Kyra plays Helene.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:34am

I Love to Cry at Weddings is back? That's VERY interesting. I'm glad to hear it. The other song was ok, but I just didn't think it added to the punch needed near the end of the show and the tune was not nearly as memorable.

Ths costumes (including the feather hat) for Rich Man's Frug are spot-on for the period. It was one of the things I really loved about that scene. Those costumes were far more accurate for the mid-60s than what was used in Rhythm of Life, which reflected more of the late-60s and was entirely out of place. The costumes appear more "hippie" when they should be "mod". And I agree with the costumes for I'm a Brass Band. The design is nice, but the color is too muted and pastel, which dampens the vibrancy of the number. A bright red, orange or green would have worked much better. Hopefully Long will break out the dye vat soon...

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:39am

"If there were more people like you" was kinda dumb, and "i love to cry at weddings" was sorely missed.

Does Ernie Sabella still seem wasted?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:41am

unfortunately, yes. he is hardly on stage. he was great in I Love to Cry at Weddings though.

[NBC]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:55am

I just want to mention that I saw the second to last performance of SC in Boston, and at that point You Should See Yourself and I Love to Cry at Weddings were both back in. (Though the playbills had not been changed to reflect that yet.)

I was there last night as well, and it was truly thrilling to witness the audience reception to both Charlotte and the show. I think there are still things that need to be worked out...and unfortunately I just think the way the show is structured, the second act is sort of a comedown after the first act. The first act has the better numbers in it, particularly in this revival where I think they missed the boat with Rhythm of Life (though I liked it better last night than I did in Boston) and I'm a Brass Band.

It does seem like they've bumped up the choreography for Charlotte a little since Boston in some of the numbers, so that was nice to see. The dancing of the ensemble was terrific as well, even when the choreography itself was not all that spectacular. I think the numbers that worked best were Something Better Than This, and the first two sections of Rich Man's Frug, particularly The Heavyweight. (The Big Finish wasn't all that big, unfortunately.)

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:07pm

I thought it was Denis O'Hare that everyone thought was wasted!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 12:21pm

Denis O'Hare doesn't appear until late in Act 1, but he is on stage a lot in Act 2.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 2:23pm

Just to mention that I saw Charity's opening and closing night in Boston. Although the Playbill said differently, 'You should see yourself' and 'I love to cry at weddings' WERE in the show in Boston. Hmmm....did they end with an instrumental "I'm a Brass Band?" Or has that changed from Boston?

I'll be at the show next Monday night and we'll see if Christina can pull it off as well as Charlotte did. I'm guessing no, but we'll see.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 3:41pm

When I saw the show in Chicago, Ernie Sabella ran on stage singing two or three lines of "I Love to Cry At Weddings" just before the scene where they sang "If there were more people". The audience loved it! I don't understand why they thought they needed a different song there- "Weddings" has always been a showstopper whenever I saw it.

It sounds like the show has improved- could this show make it afterall?

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:05pm

Joekv99, unlikely the show will make it after all. It has always failed before. It is a clunker and most folks find it terribly dull. Unless they have rewritten the book and done something about the pretentious silly direction and stuff, SWEET CHARITY will fail on Broadway as it has in its prior two incarnations.
Again I ask, why on earth would these producers do a show that has always gotten bad reviews, bad word of mouth and lost money? It just makes no sense. SWEET CHARITY is a turkey with no stuffing or dressing. I would STRONGLY suggest folks watch for the reviews of the majority of professional theater critics before spending money on this show. If you see it I hope you Love it. But be aware. People WALKED out of SWEET CHARITY at intermission when Gwen Verdon starred in it! Glad you folks who enjoyed it, enjoyed it so much. YOU are rare and in the minority. Perhaps you had your emotions for the bravura of Charlotte influence your feelings for this clunker. If not, it is indeed wonderful that you love theater enough to have enjoyed a show like this. Thanks goodness folks like you are out there!!! I have my fingers crossed that something will be done to this production before it opens, so we all have a "new" Broadway show to love and enjoy and remember!

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:12pm

Wow - way to be completely negative.

But than again. It's WISH - we see the same thing from him in every SC thread.

The audiences are loving the show - it's obviously got something.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:15pm

Ljay889...
I couldn't agree more. I saw this show twice in Boston, acknowledged flaws, and yet still support it and will be anxiously awaiting the show on Monday when I see it with Ms. Applegate.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:18pm

"The audiences are loving the show - it's obviously got something."

You may be calling that a bit prematurely. It has only had one New York performance, and it got a chilly reception in Minneapolis, Chicago and Boston.

[NBC]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:22pm

It didn't get a particularly chilly reception from the audience when I saw it in Boston. (The critics, I know, were another story.)

And they have changed the very end again since Boston, it does not end with a Brass Band reprise any more (thankfully).

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:32pm

MEF - There is no doub that the audience loved the show last night. Just read the reviews posted on multiple site.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:34pm

Well apparantly audiences at some points are also enjoying GOOD VIBRATIONS. And look at all the people on here that love BKLYN. I think MEF is talking about a critically chilly reception.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:40pm

Well that's true..but critics weren't ga-ga about Wicked either. Try and get 2 orchestra tix for that any time soon.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:45pm

WICKED is a rare exception. Look at the cold reviews for THE GLASS MENAGERIE, GOOD VIBRATIONS, or BROOKLYN.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:50pm

Hey is Bob Gaynor still in the production - he is a personal fav of mine

[Princeton78]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 4:53pm

Bob is in it..

And I can think of plenty of box office hits that were not critical hits.....

Aida
CATS
Beauty and the Beast

just to name a few...

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 5:03pm

I'm just tired of people already predicting the shows fate. Give it up. The show has a chance of being a hit. The critics sure weren't crazy about Spamalot - most shows this season are getting mixed review from the critics - and regardless are still doing great at the box office.

Give Charity a chance. It has the potentional to be one of the sweet hit shows this season.

[justme2]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 5:25pm

Your review was fantastic, withoutatrace!...I wish all reviewers would give as much detailed information when reviewing a show!

Of course, I immediately dismissed WISH's post, as I have read that post and argument before in every other Sweet Charity thread on this board.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 4/12/05 at 5:57pm

It's too bad that a first rate Broadway Star like Ms. D’Amboise is only a standby for a second rate sitcom star with almost no stage experience. I know it's all about the name factor, but that just shows how sad Broadway audiences have become. There was a time where stage experience meant more.