debbie allen as sweet charity

[thecat]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 12:51pm

IM SO EXCITED I RECIEVED MY 1986 SWEET CHARITY CD.I WANT TO
START OFF BY SAYING THIS IS A MUST HAVE.ITS DIFFERENT THEN ALL
THE SC CD.DEBBIE ALLEN REALLY BLOW ME AWAY.I KNOW SEE COULD
DANCE AN ACT BUT SING. SHE REALLY SURPRISE ME. I LOVE HER (YOU
CAN SEE YOURSELF I NEVER HEARD IT SUNG LIKE THAT WIT SO MUCH
ENERGY AN SOUL.IM THE BRAVEST WAS VERY DIFFERENT.IF MY FRIEND'S
SHE ADD SO MUCH SPUNK.ITS MISSING ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS CHARITY'S SOLILOQUY BUT I'LL LIVE.GWEN WILL ALWAYS BE SC IN MY
MIND.BUT MS ALLEN BUT HER OWM LITTE TWIST IN THINGS.AND TRUST
ME YOU WILL ENJOY THIS JUST AS MUCH AS I DID.

WHATS YOUR THOUGHTS ON VANESSA WILLIAMS AS CHARITY
Updated On: 11/30/05 at 12:51 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 12:55pm

My eyes! My eyes!

PLEASE turn off the caps lock.

Allen was a very good Charity on stage.

Williams sounds like a bad idea. Is she capable of being funny? And isn't she a bit too glamorous-looking to be working in a dance hall?

Updated On: 11/30/05 at 12:55 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 1:01pm

"Charity's Soliloquy" was not in the '86 revival. It also was dropped from the original production, and I don't think it was used in any of the other major productions of the show, until the current revival.

[Marquise]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 1:05pm

~ saw this live at the minskoff
great performances all around
~ debbie could do no wrong as far as i was concerned back then
i have the recording but i had issues with it
~ they used, what sounded to me like *synthesized* orchestrations for this recording
not at all what it sounded live
~ you should see yourself is one of my favorite tracks on the cd

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 1:08pm

Yeah, the '86 revival was GREAT in the theatre, but the CD is a very strange affair, with Cy Coleman monkeying around with many of the arrangements.

[Flahooley]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 1:35pm

I saw Allen in CHARITY. I thought she was much too tough in the role. I had a hard time believing that the woman I saw on stage was any sort of victim. Still her dancing was FANTASTIC. I really wish I had seen her as Anita in WEST SIDE STORY.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/30/05 at 2:06pm

Debbie was wonderful as Charity, a true triple threat in the part. She was everything Charity should be: funny, tough, sweet... and naive. Not an easy combination if you think about it, but that's what makes this role so good.

The entire production was top-notch, especially Tony-winners Bebe Neuwirth (in the show that put her on the map) and Michael Rupert.

But the star of that show was Fosse in his last bow on Broadway.

The CD, faults and all, is a great memento from a great production.

[show2n2]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 7:10pm

I'm listening to the LP right now. :)

Never heard it before, but really like it.

Sometimes Debbie Allen sounds like Anika Noni Rose...


Updated On: 7/3/06 at 07:10 PM

[Joshua488]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 7:32pm

The recording is... interesting. I hate the synthesized orchestra and the new versions/arrangements of "I'm the Bravest Individual" and "Where Am I Going?" are awful. "Where Am I Going?" sounds like it's from a '70s porn flick. I also don't like the new keys of Charity's songs; they were raised for Debbie Allen, but I think they sound awkward. I also don't understand the new key for "Too Many Tomorrows."

I do the new version of "Sweet Charity," however.

I would recommend this recording for the wonderful performances from Debbie Allen, Bebe Neuwirth and Michael Rupert.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 7:35pm

I hate that cd. I can't stand listening to it.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 7:49pm

I know (in addition to playing Nickie) that Bebe understudied Charity. Does anyone know if she ever went on and, if so, how she was?

EDIT: Anyone wanting to see Allen in the role can watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzKY_PtCVkM&search=debbie%20allen , a short clip of her peformance at the Tony's that year.

Updated On: 7/3/06 at 07:49 PM

[Charlayne Vivika]

Posted: 7/4/06 at 12:09am

I played Charity in high school!

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 7/4/06 at 12:25am

^ How is that relevant to this thread?

[matiboi]

Posted: 7/4/06 at 4:52pm

Bebe went on . . . there's a "memoir" of her out there . . .

[Practically Perfect]

Posted: 7/4/06 at 5:01pm

I think this is my least favourite of the 'Sweet Charity' recordings. It just sounds very synthesized, and Debbie Allen sounds too much like a pop star...

Mary P x