#1
Posted: 2/14/05 at 7:56am
This one seems pretty positive. There are a few problems but, overall, it seems like all the show needs is a little polishing up and there's no reason why it shouldn't be a hit when it reaches New York.
Rohan Preston of The Star Tribune: "Though she has moments of fearlessness when her character seems to connect to something other than lip gloss, Applegate stays pretty and perky for much of the musical, serving cuteness instead of character. Her performance, under director Walter Bobbie, seems even more inert and Botox-stilled because it occurs in the midst of this sure-footed, adaptable-voiced and deft company. These singing and acting hoofers include quirkily funny co-star Denis O'Hare as oddball accountant Oscar Lindquist, stage goddess Solange Sandy as hot-to-trot mama Helene and Paul Schoeffler in a winning turn as bed-hopping Italian movie idol Vittorio. In fact, the company, supported by a 15-piece orchestra under the capable baton of conductor Gordon Lowry Harrell, gives this long-awaited revival of Charity something to sing about. The design elements are also fetching, with hot pink, red and tangerine dreams popping off many of Scott Pask's scenic designs and augmented by Brian MacDevitt's evocative lighting... Whatever Applegate's weaknesses and strengths, the show has other problems. Sweet Charity is of so many pieces—choreographically and in the narrative—it feels like a puzzle, albeit one with bold colors. Wayne Cilento's dances sometimes re-create some of the choreography of Bob Fosse, who choreographed and directed the first stage version in the 1960s. This homage, on 'Big Spender' and 'Rich Man's Frug,' for example, invites a comparison that does not favor this new version. At other times, the dances seem incongruously updated."
Sweet Charity Reviews
Rohan Preston of The Star Tribune: "Though she has moments of fearlessness when her character seems to connect to something other than lip gloss, Applegate stays pretty and perky for much of the musical, serving cuteness instead of character. Her performance, under director Walter Bobbie, seems even more inert and Botox-stilled because it occurs in the midst of this sure-footed, adaptable-voiced and deft company. These singing and acting hoofers include quirkily funny co-star Denis O'Hare as oddball accountant Oscar Lindquist, stage goddess Solange Sandy as hot-to-trot mama Helene and Paul Schoeffler in a winning turn as bed-hopping Italian movie idol Vittorio. In fact, the company, supported by a 15-piece orchestra under the capable baton of conductor Gordon Lowry Harrell, gives this long-awaited revival of Charity something to sing about. The design elements are also fetching, with hot pink, red and tangerine dreams popping off many of Scott Pask's scenic designs and augmented by Brian MacDevitt's evocative lighting... Whatever Applegate's weaknesses and strengths, the show has other problems. Sweet Charity is of so many pieces—choreographically and in the narrative—it feels like a puzzle, albeit one with bold colors. Wayne Cilento's dances sometimes re-create some of the choreography of Bob Fosse, who choreographed and directed the first stage version in the 1960s. This homage, on 'Big Spender' and 'Rich Man's Frug,' for example, invites a comparison that does not favor this new version. At other times, the dances seem incongruously updated."
Sweet Charity Reviews
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