SWEET CHARITY Book by Neil Simon; Music by Cy Coleman: Lyrics by Dorothy Fields: Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Peneili and Ennio Fialano Produced for the Broadway stage by Fryer, Carr and Harris; Conceived, staged and choreographed by Bob Fosse Palace Theatre, Broadway - January 29, 1966 (608 perfs) Prince of Wales Theatre, London - 11 October, 1967 SYNOPSIS Sweet Charity is a tender, poignant and consistently funny look at the adventures, or rather, misadventures in the ways of love encountered by the gullible and guiless lady known as Charity Agnes Valentine - "the lady of the evening" who always gives her heart, and her earnings, to the wrong man. Charity sings, dances, laughs and cries her way through romances with the "animal magnetism" hero, the "ultra-chic-continental" hero, and lastly, the "impossible-to-believe-but-he's-better-than-nothing" hero. Sweet Charity is a musical in every sense of the word. Cy Coleman has captured the rhythms and sounds, and Dorothy Fields the vernacular of fun, of 60s New York. It's a dancing show, too, with great opportunity for use of dramatic movement. There's one of the all-time great show-stopping numbers when Charity's dancehall colleagues sing "Hey, Big Spender!" The show is easy to stage and, above all, it's fun. THE STORY: ACT I As the last bold, brass chords of the overture die away, a spotlight picks out a girl with a shoulder bag and a heart tattooed on her left arm. Charity Hope Valentine is meeting her boyfriend in the park. While she tells him how great he's looking, the silent Charlie preens himself. Then he grabs her bag, pushes her into the lake and runs off. The passers-by discuss the apparent drowning but do nothing, until a young Spaniard finally hauls Charity out and the police arrive, asking questions. An electric sign lights up, announcing 'The Fan-Dango Ballroom', where Charity works as a taxi-dancer. In the Hostess Room, Charity explains to the sceptical girls how Charlie tried to save her - 'He made a grab for me but all he got was my handbag.' The manager, Herman, arrives to tell them it's time for work. A railing rises across the front of the stage, and we are in the seedy Ballroom. The girls drape themselves over the rail and proposition the audience. Helene and Nickie try to comfort Charity about Charlie's absence. On a New York Street, after work, Charity gives to every beggar who approaches her until she realises she has no money. Just then, film star Vittorio Vidal rushes out of the smart Pompeii Club, in pursuit of his beautiful mistress, Ursula. He bowls Charity over in more ways than one. 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, Charity sits down with the famous Vittorio Vidal. She tries to steer him away from the subject of Ursula and, 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'. 'But where?' asks Vittorio. Charity opens her eyes, 'Your apartment!' Lying down on Vittorio's bed, Charity suddenly isn't hungry any more. She admits she's a dance hall hostess, putting it down to 'the fickle finger of fate' - a favourite expression of her's. Vittorio is struck by her humour and honesty. Totally 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 sings excitedly one of the show-stopping numbers, "If My Friends Could See Me Now". Then Ursula arrives to apologise for her jealousy. Charity is swiftly bundled into a closet before Vittorio opens the door to his fiancée.
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