Walter Bobbie says You need a fabulous Comic Actress

Posted: 5/17/05 at 3:24pm

I just saw the opening night video of Sweet Charity on Broadway.com and Walter Bobbie was interviewed briefly and his comments were " ...I think you need to be a fabulous comic actress to pull off this show , because she dances a few times in this show...in the show. But that's not the soul of the character."

I'm going to try and leave this horse alone. I'm not going to attack Miss Applegate because she has overcome terrible odds to make this work. I used to say it's not a show about a broken foot but it really is. It's about everything. The foot. The determination. The publicity. The bickering on this and other chat boards. The people pulling for her and those of us who weren't. All of this has transformed a simple revival into something else. And in that aspect , Miss Applegate HAS succeeded.

My poblem is with Mr. Bobbie's remarks that Charity "...dances a few times in this show." Well , I think that's a true statement but just in the context of this revival. And that's fine but just say it. We wanted to make Charity more of a comedic role than a dancing role. Fine. Let's move on.


Broadway.com Opening Night video Updated On: 5/17/05 at 03:24 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 3:27pm

I've not seen this current revival, I can't actually comment on that. But I have to say that Charity is a definite triple threat role. She must act, she must sing, she must dance. There's no getting around it.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:20pm

I think the one glorius thing about this revival is that Charity wasn't so hard.... because frankly the movie was depressing and hearing about the other productions i wouldn't be happy..... Christina's Charity is that of a girl who is just stuck and is soooooo niave..... her dancing is okay ...it makes her lok as though she is playing...... and her singing is absoutly adorable.....frankly i agree with Walter Bobbie's rendition of the charecter Charity..... but the others are great too.... when i think of Charity i see Christina's Charity

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:26pm

some would quibble that Gwen Verdon was no real singer; i loved her distinctive voice and she was without a doubt extremely musical in phrasing, both vocal and physical.

Most triple-threat roles, if played well, can highlight two of the three (or sometimes even one) and succeed.

The tendency to try and critique the apples being served while wishing for oranges can get really frustrating.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:33pm

Somebody also should have told him you need GOOD coreography!

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:52pm

Well according to O'Hare, " ...Cilento killed Fosse while paying him tribute." Meaning he gave a nod to the original creator but made the choreography his own. I don't agree with making the choreography his own.

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:58pm

A little off topic but if you guys and gals watch that opening night video on Broadway.com, does anyone notice that the two supporting actress,LaMana and LaCosta, have no movement in their upper lips when they speak. It looks atrange. I think it might be botox but of course that's just speculation. It just seems weird to watch them talk and their upper lips not move.???????????

[Marquise]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 5:12pm

Maybe they're actually fembots created specifically for the show to keep costs down and do as they are told.