| Sutton
Foster in “Sweet Charity”:
Up Close and Personal
Pershing Sq. Signature Center, 480 West 42nd
Street, NYC
Through Jan. 8 It’s a tough ticket, but try www.ticketcentral.com
Reviewed by Philip Dorian October 22, 2016.
How cool would it be to have Sutton Foster come to your house to
sing and dance in your living room? And suppose she brought some talented
friends to perform with her?
Well, that’s not gonna’ happen, but you can come close
by seeing the mega-watt star – and her pals – in “Sweet
Charity” in the most intimate musical-theater venue in NYC these
days: The Pershing Square Signature Center, where no seat is more
than a few rows from the lip of the stage. And while The New Group
production is scaled down, it doesn’t miss a beat of the terrific
Cy Coleman (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics) score. It even seems
to have improved Neil Simon’s book, still set in the 1960s,
but somehow less dated than I recall.
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| Sutton Foster solo |
The hooker-with-a-heart-of-mush was never better captured than in
Federico Fellini’s 1957 Oscar-winning “Nights of Cabiria.”
Ten years later, Cy Coleman et al, with a major assist from Bob Fosse,
adapted that movie into “Sweet Charity.”
Originally played by Gwen Verdon, Charity, who wears her heart not
only on her sleeve but tattooed on her arm, remains one of theatre’s
signature song-and-dance roles. The song-and-dance part of it is in
Sutton Foster’s wheelhouse, of course, but there are colors
to her Charity that complement that element. This cabaret-styled “Sweet
Charity” satisfies on several levels. Not only does Ms. Foster
ace her musical turns, she mines them emotionally; “If My Friends
Could See Me Now” couldn’t be more whimsical, “I’m
a Brass Band” more joyous, or “Where Am I Going”
more heartbreaking.
Fan-Dango Ballroom hostess Charity Hope Valentine always picks the
wrong man, one of whom “played handball and the horses.”
She finds a better one when she’s stuck in an elevator with
claustrophobic Oscar. She tells him she works in a bank, but he finds
out the truth and claims it doesn’t matter that she’s
‘danced’ with lots of men. Maybe it doesn’t matter.
But maybe it does.
There’s a prologue, with Charity being dumped/dunked in Central
Park (“You Should See Yourself,” she sings), but the show
really takes off with the Fan-Dango taxi dancers, as they were called,
hawking their wares (“Hey Big Spender”). The six, including
Charity, are a shade on the world-weary side, but still alluring in
spangly red onesies that have also seen better days. That they are
bonded by their work and life situation is clear from the jump.
In a scene that stands alone as a comedy classic, Charity finds herself
the unexpected guest of Italian movie star Vittorio Vidal (one of
three roles played superbly by Joel Perez). How fortunate for Charity
(and for us) that Vittorio’s souvenirs include his top hat and
cane during her “If My Friends Could See Me Now” number.
And while “Charity” veterans may not remember his also
proffering a pair of tap shoes, they’re not likely to forget
it now.
Charity and two Fan-Dango co-workers lament “There’s Gotta’
Be Something Better Than This.” Asmeret Ghebremichael and Emily
Padgett complete a formidable trio with Foster; later, the duo’s
“Baby, Dream Your Dream” is outstanding.
I’ve never been a fan of the elevator scene. It’s not
Neil Simon at his best, but Shuler Hensley’s uninhibited abandon
to its silliness is a mini-masterpiece. Matched by Foster, it is a
supremely funny ten minutes. (Cast against type, Hensley, who played
The Monster in “Young Frankenstein” on Broadway, is terrific.)
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| Emily Padgett, left, Sutton Foster and Asmeret
Ghebremichael in the "There's Gotta' Be Something Better
Than This" number |
Derek McLane’s sets are necessarily minimalist, but there’s
never a doubt where we are. Director Leigh Silverman and choreographer
Joshua Bergasse might be accustomed to more expansive work spaces,
but what they’ve created on a modest-size, raised rectangular
playing area proves the adage that the best things come in (relatively)
small packages.
The ads for next spring’s “Hello Dolly” tout its
40-piece orchestra. I hope they do as much for Jerry Herman’s
score as music director Georgia Stitt’s dynamite six-woman band
does for Cy Coleman’s. (One of the six, Nioka Workman, is a
cellist…love it!)
That this “Sweet Charity” is an ensemble piece is exemplified
by its alphabetical-order cast listing. The leading woman is but one
star in a first-class constellation. Sutton Foster in this play with
this cast in this theater adds up to matchless entertainment.
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