Sweet Charity Synopsis?

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 12/31/05 at 11:26pm

With the show closing and all, I was never able to see it, and was just wondering if there is any synopsis online, with the songs and all, that i could read to you know, more fully understand how the whole thing plays out.
So yeah, if you know where one is, I'd appreciate it!
:)

[Yankeefan007]

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

http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/sweet_charity_001.html

The ending in the current revival, is different, however.

[justme2]

Posted: 1/1/06 at 1:35am

Well, in a nutshell, it's the story of the eternal optimist. Charity works in a dance hall. She's always thinking the best of everyone, and hoping for the chance to be loved by that one special guy.

In short, she's a sap.

There have been several different endings tacked onto this story, from the orginal Broadway production, the movie, and through revivals.

The crux of the ending is that Charity gets dumped yet again, because Oscar realizes he cannot just "forget" that she's been with all these other men.

There are three ending that I know of; the revival tried to update the ending for audiences today. As much as I enjoyed this revival, I don't think ending the revival with Charity singing and basically realizing she doesn't need a man for her happiness was the right choice. But...I don't know what kind of an ending would be right for this character, so who am I to judge?

But, the other endings that have been used have not been popular either. I saw the movie ending with Charity, alone in Central Park. A gaggle of young hippies come by and say "Good Morning" and hand her a daisy. She perks up and moves on. I've heard there is an ending where Charity is greeted by a fairy godmother in the park, telling her something that cheers her up and she moves on. Apparently, there is another ending where she ends up pushed in a pond at the end of the movie.

ANYWAY.....she is supposed to be one of those doormat types of women who turns her life around at the end and learns to stop depending on being loved by a man as a marker of her happiness.

I enjoyed the revival, the story, the staging and the acting. I had some issues with the choreography and the direction of the ending...but unlike others on this board, I never thought the show warranted the absolute hatred from "those who remember better versions of the show". I was just happy to finally get a chance to see a staging of this show and listen to Cy Coleman's wonderful score in a theater.

Here's the revival's website:
http://www.sweetcharitythemusical.com/thestory.htm

I hope this info helped you!

[corsairstw]

Posted: 1/1/06 at 1:40am

It's over!!! Boohooohohohooo...

I saw the 2nd to last performance yesterday evening. It was my second time seeing it and the performers were definitely giving it their all and having a blast with it. So sad to see such a wonderful revival with a great cast part from ol' Broadway.

Edit: Hahaha pushed in a pond at the end? A fairy godmother appears? Somehow, I like this current ending the best even though it's bittersweet. Updated On: 1/1/06 at 01:40 AM

[Joshua488]

Posted: 1/1/06 at 1:49am

In the original ending, Charity was pushed into the lake by Oscar. Then, a fairy godmother appears and tells Charity that "It will all happen tonight" and Charity becomes hopeful again. Then the fairy turns around and she has a sign on her back that reads something along the lines of, "THE FAIRY GODMOTHER - TONIGHT ON CBS."

I saw the evening performance on December 28. It was my third time. I'll miss it. Mylinda Hull was out, so I saw Alexis Carra as Nickie and I was not impressed at all. Also, Kisha Howard was okay, but she did not compare to Kyra Da Costa and Anika Ellis.

Also, this was a different conductor from when I saw the show the other two times, and he definitely slowed down some tempos, most noticeably in "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This." Christina, Alexis and Kisha seemed a little uncomfortable dancing so slowly. So when "I'm the Bravest Individual" came around, Christina started singing the song very fast, as if giving the orchestra a clue to speed it up.

[justme2]

Posted: 1/1/06 at 1:58am

thanks for the better description of the fairy godmother ending joshua488! I'd only heard of that one.

Yeah, out of ALL the endings there are...I've yet to read of one that I think works for the character. This revival probably came closest to what SHOULD happen, but it still didn't feel right to me.

Oh well, I loved the show overall! Thanks to Christina and the cast and creative team for bringing this show to Broadway.

BTW...was Denis in the show at all this week?