Sweet Charity

Whenever I see a play or musical set in the 1960's, I feel great pangs of nostalgia - I was a 'child' of the 60's and remember very well when 'Sweet Charity' opened in the West End - the score by Cy Coleman and book by Neil Simon was a sure-fire winner!  We dancers constantly practised 'The Fug', one of the iconic dance numbers from the show, choregraphed by the brilliant Bob Fosse.

This bittersweet musical was perfectly directed by Michael Kirkby, with a strong approach to both libretto and choreography - he adapted movement and set changes to fit Morley's company and venue; this is a fast-moving, multi-faceted show, with high speed changes of set, coped with well by the stage crew. I loved the touches that Michael brings to his productions - scenes were introduced by a 'hippie' with explanatory cards - this 'hippie' turned out to be 'Daddy Brubeck' played by Tom Daley, who later gave us one of the many stand-out songs, 'Rhythm of Life'!  Of course, any actress tackling the part of 'Charity' has to be a strong 'triple threat' - an excellent dancer, actress and singer - and Ysanne Morrill ticked all those boxes fully - she may be tiny in stature but is very big in performance. She was supported by a strong set of principals - Richard Armstrong as her would-be-beau, 'Oscar', Kaly Nicholson and Lindsay Leng as her nightclub friends, 'Nickie' and 'Helene', the inimitable Steven Holt as 'Herman', manager of the Fandango Dance Hall, Jason Reynolds as Italian screen idol, 'Vittorio' and Sadie Reed as his long-suffering girlfriend, 'Ursula'. All principals performed to the very best of their ability and an enthusiastic ensemble worked hard - keeping their characterisations in singing and acting. The hostesses of the Fandango performed 'Big Spender' with aplomb (a personal note here - I felt they could have been more heavily made-up). As always, the costumes were sourced by Tina ('Tacker') Riordan and assisted by her costume team - this was no easy task and I know the hard work they put in to make the show as authentic as possible. The singing and orchestra was, as always, under the care of Musical Director, David Hann; he kept the volume down so we were able to hear the performers clearly - not easy with such a strong brass section!  I have already mentioned the stage crew, with Stage Managers Gayna and Howard Goalby and ably assisted by lighting and sound crews. May I also add an audience 'thank you' to the hard working front-of-house team - unsung heroes!

Morley should be proud of this show - I know they were a little disappointed by ticket sales - but those patrons who missed it, well, it was their loss!

My sincere congratulations to you all! 

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