rOcKS @ 'Sweet Charity'

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 1:27am

With all of the hoopla surrounding this show, I am happy to report that it is an excellently executed revival that absolutely must be seen. I adored this show from the first chord the orchestra played right down to the second the curtain fell at the end. It deserved the Tony for Best Revival, without a doubt. It was 200 times better than La Cage and I will never understand how they got the same level reviews.

--The orchestra sounded absolutely phenomenal. One of the best orchestras I’ve heard in a long, long time. I’m listening to the CD right now and the orchestrations sound ridiculously bad. I guess you have to hear it live to appreciate it.

--The sets were wonderful, truly. They seemed a bit I don’t know...small for a Broadway caliber show. At times, I wanted more set-wise but it never came. The costumes were wonderful and I truly enjoyed how Christina didn’t change during the show. I don’t know why but it seemed to really strike a cord in me, maybe symbolizing something? I don’t know...just thinking out loud. The lighting was utterly brilliant. I really enjoyed the lights here. They seemed to be a bit too much at times but the bright and vibrant colors always fit the scenes very well.

--Now, onto the choreography. This has been a heated topic all over (well, mostly on here but yeah... ). Many think that Wayne Cilento should have just taken Fosse's original choreography and used it with perhaps a few tweaks here and there. Well his choreography is not Anne Reinking's (whose choreography for Chicago was done "in the style of Bob Fosse") but it was, I thought pretty well done. I thought Rich Man's Frug was a bit messy here and there and it definitely wasn’t the highlight of the evening but it wasn’t painfully bad either. His best work here lies in ...Brass Band and ...Could See Me Now. It really wasn’t as bad as people have made it out to be and he did, with all due respect, keep a few Fosse quirks in the choreography here and there that I and maybe two other people in the theater noticed and appreciated.

--The direction, in my opinion, was very fast paced yet transferred from scene to scene very smoothly. It was flawed a bit but it all seemed to work out in the end. Bobbie's best work is with the ensemble scenes rather than the intimate scenes with two or three people on the stage. He really makes the transfers on and off stage smooth and natural looking during the company scenes.

Now, onto one of the best casts on Broadway...
--Christina Applegate: Here I go. What a phenomenal talent this girl is!! She is entirely right for the role on so many different levels and totally captures the essence of Charity Hope Valentine with such a clear and raw quality. It’s been said about 300 times on here but Christina IS Charity Hope Valentine. Her singing was spot on. She was on pitch the ENTIRE evening and hit every note clearly and perfectly. Her singing is in tip-top shape, IMO. Her dancing blew me away. The fact that she is up on that stage 8 times a week performing with a still broken foot doing high kicks and leaps into the air is astonishing all by itself but the idea that she is graceful and lovely and downright wonderful doing it is another thing all by itself. Her book scenes were hysterical (the scene in the closet is so wonderfully funny and clever on her and Bobbie's parts). From the moment she walked on the stage, the audience could NOT take their eyes off of this little fireball of energy and talent. People were hysterically laughing at the little things she did with 20 other people on the stage and I realized that they couldn’t take their eyes off of her and for a good reason! She is excellent in the role and has the stage presence of a goddess. She was very, very, VERY funny and at the end *MINI-SPOILER*, she had me nearly in tears because of how real and emotionally expressive she was. *END MINI SPOILER* I could not get over how wonderful she was in the role. And how sweet she was at the stage door! (She called me a youngin'! )

--Denis O'Hare is almost stealing every scene from Applegate. If he entered a little earlier in the show, Applegate would have had to take out the big guns to upstage him. They do, however, work splendidly on the stage. O'Hare is giving one of the best supporting performances in recent memory and at least deserved a Tony nomination. He has such an exuberant and wonderful voice. He had the entire audience belly-laughing like there was no tomorrow during the elevator scene. He is an EXCELLENT Oscar!

--Janine LaManna and Kyra DaCosta: Two of the best supporting performances I’ve ever seen. Ever. They blew me out of this world. They were funny, moving, and had voices that would make the world's best singers jealous. Their acting was spot on and they made '...Something Better Than This' and 'Baby, Dream Your Dream' highlights. These are songs I would usually skip over on the OBC but now (and I’ve had the CD for about 4 hours) I’ve listened to them both about 12 times each. They are amazing as Nickie and Helene. Two must-see performances.

--Rob Bartlett was wonderful as Herman and did what he could with such a small role. He was very funny and although he wasn’t quite Mr. Muschnik, I’m very excited to see him in The Odd Couple. He was very good.

--The ensemble was wonderful beyond belief!!! The girls, especially. Big Spender had chills running down my spine. The ensemble is in very, VERY fine form.

Overall, this is a must see, knockout revival, IMO. I absolutely loved it! Christina's performance will, I believe, go down in musical theater history for multiple reasons but the main one shouldn’t be that she saved the show from closing. It should be that she defied critics and dissenters and was adorably bold and perfect. The show cannot be missed. It is absolutely brilliant and strikingly fun. Please, go see it!


4/4 STARS

[luvliza89]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 1:30am

Fantastic review Rocks!

Glad to see you enjoyed it so.

[zoran912]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 1:38am

I'm glad to hear that Christina is doing well. Apparently the TONY perf was just nerves getting her freaked out.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 1:39am

Thanks for the compliments! And yes, zoran, the Tonys had to bee 100% nerves because she was wonderful tonight!

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 1:54am

My friend who was at the Tonys said that CHARITYs music was taped. And that Christina messed up on one little move, and it got off from there. I wish it had been better though. SO Glad you enjoyed the show!

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 2:13am

Wickedrocks, I TOTALLY agree with you that is 100% how i felt when i saw it......


I am seeing it Wensday afternoon to check up on it..... Gah i <3 Christina

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 2:17am

I'm glad you liked it!
Sweet Charity is an AMAZING production.
I still don't get how La Cage got that Tony.. bla..

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 5:25am

Why do the orchestrations sound so good in the theatre and so bad on the CD? Were they changed for the recording or is it just a badly produced CD?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:36am

Have you already listened to the cd!? How? Is it available at the theatre?

[MusicalDirector109]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:50am

Thanks for the wonderful review. I was debating to see the show next week, your review makes me want to see it now.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 11:00am

chita- The CD is only available at the theatre. It was originally supposed to be released tomorrow but they bumped back the release date to (I believe) the 12 of July. I dont get why they did this. I mean if the CD is available at the theatre, why do they need the bump back the release date.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 11:09am

YES! I knew you would love it Rocks! We definetly have the same opinion on most of the show.

It seems Christina's singing has gotten much better since the show opened, because I remember people being harsh about her singing, and it seems now her singing is just fine!

Chita - The CD has been available at the theatre for almost 2 weeks now, and is becoming available around NYC now. July 12 around the Country.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 11:42am

ljay- I was thinking of you the whole show LOL. I absolutley adored every moment of it. And once again, my motto comes into play: dont go into a theater expecting to see a flawless masterpeice because you rarely (if not, never) do. It was wonderful, miniscule flaws and all. And Christina's singing was splendid. 10x better than the CD.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 11:43am

Oh, just remembered that I kept noticing Christina gasping during "See Me Now" she needs to watch her breathing a bit more. Especially after dancing.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 5:35pm

Aww. Rocks - thanx for thinking of me!
I knew you were going to love this. I agree with everything you've been saying.

Was the the theatre pretty full?

[jczelyph]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 6:02pm

I saw it three nights ago. The theatre was full. The show was excellent. I have seen DRS, Sweet Charity, La Cage and Hairspray. Charity ranks as second, with Hairspray beating it. DRS third and La Cage (which I thought was merely OK, it's only redeeming features Michael Washington Brown and Gavin Creel ) in last place. How La Cage won the Tony I'll never know. I think it was because Charity is played by a celebrity not traditionally associated with Broadway, and therefore it lost favour with the voters.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 8:31pm

ljay- It was packed!!

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:39pm

You can buy the CD online now at Footlight.com. I ordered mine on Tuesday and just got it today and it is fantastic!!

Thanks for sharing your review, Rocks... I can't wait till I see this show...!

[Ann_Margrock]

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:46pm

Thanks for the great review "rocks". Sounds like you had a great time! Isn't it exciting when theatre just amazes you? I love that feeling of walking out of the theatre after seeing a show that I've completely enjoyed. Glad "Charity" was that show for you.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 2:21pm

I had a question so I figured I ask here.

When I saw the show.. in "...Friends could see me now" - In the second verse Christina sang..

" laid on a pillow made from three kinds of fur" when its suppose to be
"Laid on a bedspread made from three kinds of fur".

I was wondering - does she ususally do that? Or did I see a mess up?
Updated On: 6/26/05 at 02:21 PM

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 2:33pm

i know when i saw it she said bed spread cause i was like wait you are singing to three fur pillows

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 2:34pm

Hmmm. Maybe recently she changed it to pillows considering she is singing to pillows.

Has anyone else heard her say pillows - besides me?

[jo]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 6:03pm

I thought SWEET CHARITY was generally entertaining and in some parts quite hilarious (I had forgotten that Neil Simon wrote the book) but not pretty special. Christina was a competent and somewhat beguiling as a performer, but her performance was not a tour de force. Denis O'Hare was absolutely funny!

I beg to disagree, but I found LA CAGE AUX FOLLES the more memorable theatre experience of the two. It had touched an emotional chord that SWEET CHARITY failed to do for me. But, I guess, to each his own taste.

I had a memorable encounter with Denis O' Hare after the show. I hadn't meant to stop by the stagedoor, but I was let out on that side and decided to stay a while when I saw a number of people milling around...

When Denis O'Hare came out ( and presumably going somewhere before the evening performance), I moved closer to where he was. As he signed autographs, I said HI and congratulated him on his excellent performance. I also told him that I saw TAKE ME OUT and enjoyed his performance very much...He looked at me and told me "Coool!!!"...He then said "I wasn't naked in the show" and I replied " The only one "...He quipped again" But that was because it wasn't in my contract!"...I couldnt help laughing out loud - the guy is really funny even in real life!

On a more serious note, I had the impression that he was a little disappointed about not getting a TONY nomination. He said " Well, I was nominated two years in a row, but for this one I guess we opened too late..."

I am sure there will be other times to get more nominations/wins, as Denis is a real asset to Broadway!

[jczelyph]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 6:52pm

On the CD she sings 'bedspread' but in the show I saw she said 'pillows'. When I was listening to the CD I was like "Hey! She was singing to pillows, not a bedspread!" I think that CD recording integrity is important and I was very upset by that.

And to further comment on La Cage, I am aware of the emotion in the show but I think it is so watered down as to be pitiful. The dismally weak kiss at the end is just embarrassing, as if the directors think showing two men kissing on the lips (and lips only) for a millisecond is an appropriate climax to the show. And don't give me that crap about it being an old(ish) show and it being appropriate for when it was first produced because that may be the case but in 2005, this kind of stuff is not relevant. It's almost as patronising as watching hundreds of straight folk be titilated by watching men dressed in women's clothing, like it's some crazy cutting edge counterculture. It's similar to how 15 year old Midwest theatre freaks imagine RENT to be 'cool' when now, it's still fun, but hardly the razor sharp social commentary many imagine it to be. If, indeed, it ever was. It's about as real-life as Brooklyn, a show which I saw last night, and was mortified by (apart from 'Once Upon A Time' and the vocal pyrotechnics in general- which I unashamedly love). I was actually cringeing at some parts of it, the heroin subplot, the hilarious reappearance of Faith and the ridiculous 'saxophone' playing.

Updated On: 6/26/05 at 06:52 PM

[jczelyph]

Posted: 6/26/05 at 7:18pm

Wow, I managed to pour spite on three shows in one go there. I actually enjoyed all three of them, but parts of them let them down. Right now I'm hot, tired and all Pride-ed out so I think my vitriol is a little more free-flowing than usual. Forgive me if I sound evil.