Sweet Charity

Sweet Charity (1966), a musical comedy by Neil Simon (book), Cy Coleman (music), Dorothy Fields (lyrics). [Palace Theatre, 608 perf.] Charity Hope Valentine ( Gwen Verdon) is a dance hall hostess at the Fandango Ballroom. She longs to settle down with a man, but the men in her life simply love her and leave her—when they bother loving her at all. One steals her purse and throws her in a lake; another, jilted by his date, shoves her in a closet when his date returns. Finally, she is trapped in an elevator with Oscar ( John McMartin), who seems to her to be the man she has waited for. But when he learns what she does for a living, he, too, walks out on her. Yet somehow Charity continues on with hope for better things. Notable songs: Baby, Dream Your Dream; Big Spender; If My Friends Could See Me Now; I'm a Brass Band; Where Am I Going? Based on Fellini's 1957 film Nights of Cabiria, the musical served as the first attraction when the Palace was turned into a legitimate theatre. Curiously, although the show had a better book and more memorable songs than many musicals of the time, with Verdon performing the dynamic choreography of her husband, Bob Fosse, it was often perceived as essentially a dance show. A successful 1986 revival starred Debbie Allen.