Sweet Charity

As the NODA West Midlands Regional Representative for Staffordshire, Burton-on-Trent is just about the furthest destination in my region and I’m so glad it is as it gives me the opportunity to report on the consistently fabulous shows Mellow Dramatics produce at the Brewhouse Theatre. And the local company’s latest production of ‘Sweet Charity’ was no exception. As one of the main show numbers predicts, ‘There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This’ but having enjoyed such a wonderful evening of stage musical entertainment, I very much doubt whether there could have been anything better! ‘Sweet Charity’ was simply outstanding.

With music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and a book by Neil Simon, ‘Sweet Charity’ premiered on New York’s Broadway in 1966 where it was nominated for nine Tony Awards. London’s West End premiere opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in October 1967 and was adapted for the big screen in 1969 with Shirley MacLaine in the title role. Since then, there have been many revivals of the show, including London in 2009 starring Tamzin Outhwaite, and countless productions by amateur theatre companies around the world. And just like all those timeless musicals in the ‘Golden Age of Broadway, it’s still as good today as it was 60 years ago.

Sweet Charity follows the romantic trials and tribulations of Charity Hope Valentine in 1960’s New York. Still unlucky in love but always optimistic in her search for a future and meaningful relationship, Charity is a taxi driver by day and a dance hostess in the sleezy Fandango Ballroom by night, but despite her current way of life not being totally desirable, she still has high hopes of finding somebody to love. With some of the most memorable stage musical numbers ever written and a highly comical script by the infamous Neil Simon, Charity tries again and again to find her dream and make something of herself.

Sweet Charity is anything but a one-woman show, but just like many other popular stage musicals, heavily relies on an actress who has the voice, personality and energy to meet the huge demands of the title role. In Olivia Matlock, Mellow Dramatics had found exactly the right person!

Rarely off the stage, Olivia was simply sensational in a truly magnificent performance you would be hard pressed to see in a professional theatre. Singing, dancing and acting to the very peak of theatrical excellence, her considerable talents and verve brought the character to life and made it sparkle, her comic timing and infectious personality shining through just like a ray of sunshine in every aspect of this exceptional portrayal of Charity.

Opening with a dazzling rendition of ‘You Should See Yourself’, the show wasted no time in getting off to a breathtaking pace which never faltered throughout the evening, the music accompaniment superbly played by a nine-piece band under the masterly directorship of Tim Robinson who also doubled on trumpet.

Now back in the Fandango Ballroom and having quickly recovered from being thrown into the park lake by her married lover, Charlie (Paul Edwards), who had made off with all the money in her shoulder bag she had been saving for their life together, the advice of her two larger than life ‘besties’, Helene and Nickie, brilliantly played by Eleanor Gardiner and Lucy Metcalfe, both with incredibly good voices and a fantastic stage presence, was to forget all about him and get on with the living they had to make. And that’s exactly what they did, joined by eight of the other hostesses in slinky, sparkly dresses and all adopting subtle poses and moves in a show-stopping rendition of ‘Hey Big Spender’.

Despite all the fun and frolics, Charity was still thinking about Charlie and tenderly opened up her heart in ‘Charity’s Soliloquy’. It wasn’t long before she won the favours of a new guest, Vittorio Vidal, a dashing, silver-haired Italian heartthrob played with great affection and a perfect accent by Tom Bailey, and after being wined and dined in the Pompeii Club was invited back to Vittorio’s apartment. Charity’s scene in Vittorio’s lounge and bedroom had the audience in fits of laughter as she revelled in ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’, performed with black hat and cane, before she was speedily bustled into the closet as his long-time lover, the fiery and jealous Ursula March, played with great style and panache by Kayleigh Cross, suddenly returned out of the blue. Their subsequent heart-to-heart and Vittorio’s tender rendition of ‘Too Many Tomorrows’ were performed with great sincerity despite Charity making hilarious comical gestures in full view of the audience from the closet and even at one stage lighting a cigarette and puffing the smoke into one of Vittorio’s garment bags to avoid being discovered! How we laughed!

Now back in the Fandango Ballroom, owned and managed by the ill-tempered Herman (Faris Harlow Makin), Charity was joined by Nickie and Helene in a wonderfully up-tempo performance of ‘There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This’ and it wasn’t very long before she actually found something better, albeit comically trapped in an elevator in the YMCA building on 92nd Street with Oscar Lindquist played to perfection by Tom Patterson. While apparently very shy in the company of young ladies, he brought out a huge amount of comedy in his gentle conversation with Charity and after helping him overcome his claustrophobia, visibly grew in confidence as they both enthusiastically performed ‘I’m The Bravest Individual’ in a perfect conclusion to the first act.

After a short entr’acte into Act Two, we rejoined Charity and Oscar who had now managed to ‘escape’ from the elevator and were on their way to the Manhattan Bridge and the Rhythm of Life Church where Daddy Brubeck (Richard Ainslie) and his two assistants, Paul Edwards and Tyler Hopcott, led the entire company in the most spectacular performance of ‘The Rhythm of Life’. With everyone on stage dressed in colourful 1960’s hippy regalia and using every level of the set, this high-energy, gospel-inspired number is one of the most dynamic moments in Sweet Charity and the sheer power of the vocals and musical staging was remarkable and another clear highlight of the evening.

Despite continuing to see each other, Charity and Oscar’s relationship wasn’t really blossoming and despite sharing her concerns with Nickie and Helene, she didn’t really want to listen to their advice which they summed up in a very affectionate and beautifully sung rendition of ‘Baby Dream Your Dreams’.

Now strapped into two seats and stuck at the top of a fairground parachute ride at Coney Island Amusement Park, Oscar finally broke the ice and expressed how he felt about his new love as he kissed her and sang affectionately to his very own ‘Sweet Charity’.

Back at the Fandango Ballroom and now completely disillusioned by her role as a dance hostess, Charity quit, only to question ‘Where Am I Going?’ before meeting up again with Oscar and finally confessing to who she really was. As it turned out, Oscar already knew and, not in the slightest bit bothered by it, asked Charity to marry him. At last, Charity had found true love and celebrated in a rousing rendition of ‘I’m A Brass Band’ with the ensemble in fine voice and step, all dressed in smart matching red and black uniforms with gold braid and stitching and all ingeniously mimicking playing instruments.

After a farewell party at the Fandango Ballroom hosted by Herman, who showed us some great moves, the company joined forces in a rousing chorus of the hilarious ‘I Love to Cry At Weddings’.

Charity and Oscar then took a walk in the park where in a very melancholy moment he announced that he was unable to stop thinking about the other men she had entertained in the past and sadly decided that he couldn’t go ahead with the wedding. And believing that he’d spared her from an unhappy life with him, he pushed her into the lake, exactly as Charlie had done at the start of the story.

Dripping wet and emerging from the lake for the second time, she dragged herself to the front of the stage and asked the audience “Did you ever have one of those days?” just as her Fairy Godmother appeared, scattering stardust and assuring her that “Your dreams will come true tonight.”

As Charity picked up her suitcase and struck a final pose, her theme music swelled and the lights faded for the end of the show with a final message on the cyclorama – ‘AND SO SHE LIVED HOPEFULLY EVER AFTER’.

This really was a monumental production of the highest calibre and clearly very much appreciated by an audience who stood to cheer and applaud the final curtain calls.

The set had been ingeniously designed with a flight of six steps on either side of the stage leading up to small square platforms. From here, two smaller flights of steps led up to the main balcony, the void beneath being used to accommodate the band. Brightly decorated flower panels had been added to conceal the support steelwork and even the handrails didn’t look out of place especially when they lit up in some of the scenes in a variety of colours. At the back of the stage, the white cyclorama was cleverly used to project the scene titles and other story captions onto.

Carefully chosen furniture and reversible trucks were used throughout the show to complement the stage action as it moved, quite quickly at times, from one scene to another and was well managed by Dave Attwood and his stage crew, many of whom had been responsible for the set construction.

All the principal character, dance hostess and ensemble costumes and uniforms were of very high quality and had been carefully designed and selected to give the highest level of style and colour to each of the various scenes by Wardrobe Administrator Natasha Ingham and Seamstress Wendy Prestidge.

The stage lighting was also very well designed and operated, making full use of the latest in LED intelligent light technology. The sound too was of exceptional quality with a perfect balance struck between the band and onstage performers. I didn’t spot one missed sound cue!

But, as always, my final comments, and probably the most important, must go to Director, Chris Moss, for his vision and skill in staging this musical classic to the very peak of theatrical excellence. To Tim Robinson for the outstanding direction of all the musical numbers and the accompaniment of his magnificent band of musicians, and to Lucy Robinson for the spectacular and simply breathtaking choreography, exceptionally precise and clearly some of the very best I’ve seen. A huge well done to you all!

Thank you so much for inviting me to see ‘Sweet Charity’. I’m already looking forward to visiting you all again for ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ in September.

Chris C Bell
Regional Representative
NODA West Midlands District 3

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.