Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film Nights of Cabiria. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon as a dancer-for-hire at a Times Square dance hall, alongside John McMartin.
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, where it was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning the Tony Award for Best Choreography. The production also ran in the West End and has run several revivals and international productions. It was adapted for the screen in 1969, directed and choreographed by Fosse in his feature-film directorial debut. Shirley MacLaine starred as the title character, and McMartin reprised his Broadway role as Oscar Lindquist.
Plot
Act I The young woman Charity Hope Valentine is a taxi dancer at a dance hall called the Fandango Ballroom in New York City. With a shoulder bag and a heart tattooed on her left shoulder, Charity meets her boyfriend Charlie in Central Park. While Charlie silently preens himself, Charity speaks the pick-up lines she imagines him saying, and tells him how handsome he is ("You Should See Yourself"). Charlie then steals her handbag and pushes her into the lake (usually the orchestra pit) before running off. Passers-by discuss the apparent drowning but do nothing, until a young Spaniard finally rescues her. In the Hostess Room of the Fandango Ballroom, Charity tries to convince both herself and the other skeptical taxi dancers that Charlie tried to save her. Nickie, a fellow dancer, tells Charity that “your big problem is you run your heart like a hotel – you got guys checkin’ in and out all the time”. The manager, Herman, arrives to tell them it is time for work. The hostess dancers proposition the audience in the front room of the Fandango Ballroom ("Big Spender"). Helene and Nickie try to comfort Charity about Charlie's absence ("Charity's Soliloquy").
On the street, after work, Charity gives to every beggar who approaches her until she realizes she has no money. Just then, film star Vittorio Vidal rushes out of the smart Pompeii Club, in pursuit of his beautiful mistress, Ursula. Ursula refuses to go back inside with Vittorio, who promptly takes the only-too-willing Charity instead. Inside the Pompeii Club, the dancers are dancing the latest craze, The Rich Man's Frug. To everyone's astonishment, the famous Vittorio is accompanied by the unknown Charity. She tries to steer him away from the subject of Ursula. Finally, he wants to dance. Not having eaten since breakfast, Charity faints. There is general agreement amongst the dancers that she needs to be "laid down". Vittorio asks "where?", and Charity recovers enough to prompt Vittorio with "your apartment!".
Lying down on Vittorio's bed, Charity claims she is no longer hungry. She admits she is a dance hall hostess, putting it down to "the fickle finger of fate" (a favorite expression of hers). Vittorio is struck by her humor and honesty. Starstruck, Charity asks for a signed photograph to prove to the girls she was really in his apartment. While Vittorio fetches props from his old movies for further evidence, Charity remarks on her good fortune ("If My Friends Could See Me Now"). Ursula arrives to apologize for her jealousy; Charity is swiftly bundled into a closet before Vittorio opens the door to Ursula. ("Too Many Tomorrows") While Charity watches from the closet, Vittorio and Ursula have sex inside his four-poster bed. The following morning, Charity is escorted from the room by a mortified Vittorio. In the Hostess Room, the girls are disappointed that Charity failed to get more out of Vittorio. Nickie announces she is not going to remain at this job for the rest of her life, prompting the girls to speculate on alternative careers ("There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This"), but Herman brings them back down to earth. Charity decides to seek some cultural enlightenment at the 92nd Street Y, where she gets stuck in a broken elevator with shy tax accountant Oscar Lindquist. While trying to calm him down, Charity learns that he is not married. She declares, "Oh Oscar... You're gonna be all right." After helping Oscar overcome his claustrophobia ("I'm the Bravest Individual"), the pair are plunged into new panic when the lights stop working.
Act II After being trapped in a broken elevator, Oscar and Charity are finally rescued when it starts working again. Oscar invites Charity to go to church with him, to which she hesitantly agrees. As they walk under the Manhattan Bridge to the church, the faint cries of the next person to be stuck in the elevator are heard. The Rhythm of Life Church turns out to be a thin veneer on hippie culture ("The Rhythm of Life"). A police raid breaks up the meeting. Traveling home on the subway, Oscar proposes another date and tries to guess Charity's job, deciding that she works in a bank. Charity lies, saying she works for First National City, Williamsburg Branch. As they part, Oscar kisses her hand, and dubs her Sweet Charity ("Sweet Charity").
After two weeks, Oscar and Charity have continued dating, and she still has not confessed what she actually does for a living. At Coney Island Amusement Park they become trapped again when the Parachute Jump ride breaks. This time, Oscar is the calm one while Charity is scared — scared that she is starting to depend on him. Once again, Charity loses her nerve about telling him what her real job is. As the crowd looks on, the couple kisses. On a slow night at the Fandango, Charity loses the opportunity to snare one of the few customers to a new co-worker, Rosie. Disgusted by the whole business, she quits. However, in Times Square, she wonders what the alternative is ("Where Am I Going?"). Sending a telegram to Oscar, she asks to meet him at Barney's Chile Hacienda. She admits that she is a dance hall hostess; he admits he already knows, having followed her one night and watched her dancing. He says he does not care and wants to marry her. Relieved and elated, Charity leaves ("I'm A Brass Band") and packs a suitcase on which is printed 'Almost Married'.
After a farewell party at the Ballroom ("I Love to Cry at Weddings"), Charity and Oscar walk in the park, whereupon Oscar announces that he cannot go through with the wedding, saying he is unable to stop thinking about the "other men". Eventually, believing he’s sparing her an unhappy life with him, he pushes her into the lake and runs off. Emerging from the lake, Charity, speaking directly to the audience, asks "Did you ever have one of those days?". Realizing that unlike Charlie, Oscar has not stolen her bag, she shrugs and reprises her opening dance.
The stage blacks out onto three neon signs, reading "And so she lived … hopefully … ever after".
Musical numbers
Act I "Overture" "You Should See Yourself" – Charity "Big Spender" – Nickie, Helene and Girls "Charity's Soliloquy" – Charity "Rich Man's Frug" – Ensemble "If My Friends Could See Me Now" – Charity "Too Many Tomorrows" – Vittorio "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" – Nickie, Helene and Charity "I'm The Bravest Individual" – Charity and Oscar
Act II "The Rhythm of Life" – Daddy Brubeck and Ensemble "Baby, Dream Your Dream" – Nickie and Helene "Sweet Charity" – Oscar "Where Am I Going?" – Charity "I'm A Brass Band" – Charity and Ensemble "I Love To Cry At Weddings" – Herman, Rosie, Nickie, Helene and Ensemble
Characters Charity Hope Valentine, the girl who wanted to be loved. Oscar Lindquist, a man whom Charity befriends and eventually falls in love with. Charlie, Charity's boyfriend in the opening of the show, and the name on her tattoo Nickie and Helene, Charity's closest friends who are taxi dancers at the Fandango Ballroom. Herman, the authoritarian owner of the Fandango Ballroom; Charity's boss. Vittorio Vidal, a famous Italian movie star. Ursula March, Vittorio's girlfriend Manfred, Vittorio's butler Daddy Johann Sebastian Brubeck, the enigmatic leader of the Rhythm of Life Church. Carmen, a dancer at the Fandango Ballroom who is friends with Nickie, Helene, and Charity Rosie, the new dancer at the Fandango Ballroom. Suzanne, Frenchie, Betsy, and Elaine, dancers at the Fandango Ballroom
Productions
Original productions After a tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia starting Monday, December 6, 1965,Detroit Free Press, Wednesday, December 8, 1965, p. 10-C it moved to Detroit's Fisher Theatre for a month,"The Gala Reviews on 'Charity'", Detroit Free Press, Tuesday, February 1, 1966, p. 2-B. and then premiered on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on January 29, 1966, and closed on July 15, 1967, after 608 performances and 10 previews. It was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Bob Fosse, who wrote the original libretto under the pen-name "Bert Lewis", from Robert Louis Fosse."Happy ghosts Pen Dancing Role for Gwen", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, November 28, 1965. The show starred Gwen Verdon, John McMartin, Helen Gallagher, Thelma Oliver, James Luisi, Arnold Soboloff, Sharon Ritchie, Ruth Buzzi, and Barbara Sharma. Scenic and lighting design were by Robert Randolph and costume design was by Irene Sharaff. The production was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, winning for Fosse's choreography.
The Australian production was produced by J.C. Williamson, starring Nancye Hayes as Charity and Peter Adams as Oscar. The show commenced on 21 January 1967 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Sydney, and subsequently played seasons in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The musical opened in the West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre in October 1967, running for 476 performances. Juliet Prowse starred, and was succeeded by Gretchen Wyler.Vallance, Tom."Obituary: Juliet Prowse" The Independent, 16 September 1996Green, Stanley. Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, Da Capo Press, 1980, , p. 409
1986 Broadway revival A revival opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre on April 27, 1986 and closed on March 15, 1987, running for 369 performances and 15 previews. Again directed and choreographed by Fosse, Debbie Allen starred as Charity with Bebe Neuwirth as Nickie, Allison Williams as Helene and Michael Rupert as Oscar. Fosse's wife Gwen Verdon (the original Charity from 1966), remounted the choreography with Fosse, and taught many of the ensemble numbers to the female chorus. The production won four Tony Awards including the Tony Award, Best Reproduction (Play or Musical). When Allen left the show, Ann Reinking took over as Charity.
1998 benefit concert On June 15, 1998, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS presented an all-star fully staged one-night-only concert at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. It starred Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, Donna McKechnie, Debbie Allen and, in her last public stage appearance, Gwen Verdon, all in the shared role of Charity.Willis, John. Theatre World 1998–1999 (Vol. 55), Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002, , p.6
1998 London revival A West End revival opened on 19 May 1998 and closed on 15 August 1998 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, choreographed by Chet Walker and starring Bonnie Langford."Sweet Charity' listing, 1998" Albemarle of London, retrieved 1 July 2010
2005 Broadway revival