BWW Reviews: How Sweet SWEET CHARITY Is!

Sweet Charity! Brava!

What a pedigree! Neil Simon's book. Cy Coleman's music. Dorothy Fields' lyrics. Original inspiration and choreography by Bob Fosse. Nine Tony nominations!

What staying power! First produced on Broadway in 1966, the story of the ever-hopeful Charity Hope Valentine still manages to charm an audience.

How sweet it is that Arizona Broadway Theatre has paid glorious tribute to this theatrical gem by mounting its own diamond of a production. Quality entertainment is the predictable product of this company, and, once again, ABT does not disappoint.

Tastefully directed by Seth Reines and featuring the glowing talent of Liz Fallon as Charity, this show sparkles with a marvelous fusion of imaginative Peter Max-style set design (Geof Eroe), lighting (Jeff Davis), and costumes (John P. White).

The ensemble is terrific, providing a full plate of sexy oomph and jazz to such numbers as Big Spender and Rich Man's Frug ~ and, in due course, reminding us of Fosse's classic genius.

Where the inspiration for Sweet Charity derived from Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, the central character of the former is not a woman of the night but rather a taxi dancer at the Fan-Dango Ballroom. So far, unlucky in love, Charity subscribes to the fickle finger of fate theory of life. Inasmuch as her dance hall cohorts see themselves as irreversibly enmeshed in the "flypaper of life," Charity is the eternal optimist.

After being ditched (literally) in Central Park by a ne'er-do-well lover and cast aside after a one-night opportunistic stand with a film idol, Charity again defies fate and the chastisements of her fellow dancers ("You run your heart like a hotel. You've always got people checking in and checking out.") by changing course and seeking culture and refinement at the 92nd Street Y. As luck (?) would have it, she runs into Oscar Lindquist (Andy Meyers) who is on his way to a self-analytical discussion group. She opts to tag along. They get stuck in an elevator, which, ironically, gives a lift to their budding relationship.

If Chastity is Panglossian, Oscar is quixotic in his quest for the virgin bride. For a glorious moment, love abides, and Oscar, smitten by Chastity, may overlook her less than chaste life. But, this is one windmill he can't beat; his scruples and his "fixation with purity" get the better of him.

After all is sung and danced and done, Chastity cannot and will not be defeated. She remains open to life and aspirational, and, as the neon signs declare, "she lived ... hopefully ... ever after".

Sweet Charity continues its run at Arizona Broadway Theatre through May 10th, 2015.

Photo credit to Arizona Broadway Theatre.

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