Sweet Charity

What a blast this was! A classic 60s Broadway musical, a score of showstoppers, and at its centre the most electrifying performance we’re likely to see this year.

Bravo Naomi Price. As Charity Hope Valentine you had us eating out of your hand with your funny, street-wise but vulnerable portrayal of the dance-hall hostess who keeps falling for the wrong guy and ends up with pie all over her face. With clarion-call vocals she lit up the stage time and time again. Whether strutting to the faux-vaudeville routine of “If My Friends Could See Me Now” or bringing it down a notch to the searingly emotive “Where Am I Going” she was a star.

But Price didn’t have it all her own way. The other standout performance of the night was Andy Cook as the suave Italian film star Vittorio Vidal. It was excessively Latin and very comic and his snappy dialogue routine and “Too Late Tomorrow” with Lizzie Moore as girlfriend Ursula (channelling Penelope Cruz) was a riot of fun.

As the neurotic Oscar, Stephen Hirst projected buckets of insecurity and was an endearing foil for the star act. Charity’s dance-hall pals Nicky and Helene were in good hard-bitten and whip-smart hands with Hayley Winch and Lizzie Moore (showing great versatility as the dry-as-dust Nicky), delivering a swinging “Baby, Dream Your Dream”, whilst Elliot Baker was a strong Fandango Ballroom boss Herman and an even stronger Daddy Brubeck leading the ensemble in a dazzling “Rhythm of Life”.

But it’s the show’s big production numbers that excite. “Big Spender”, with its line-up of bored and cynical hookers, was a lesson in how-to-stage a familiar production number and make it look fresh. Kudos to Dan Venz’s choreography which managed to break-free from the iconic moves of Bob Fosse’s original with some sharp and smooth routines, especially the “Rich Man’s Frug.”

The musical is a product of its time and in this production has aged nicely with the help of astute direction (and I suspect some script tweaks) by Kris Stewart and Maureen Bowra. Neil Simon’s book has some great one-liners, Dorothy Field’s lyrics bristle with wit and wisdom, and Cy Coleman’s score keeps this seedy look at New York’s hooker habitat buoyant, but it’s Price’s show. She’s fantastic. When she defiantly sang “I’m the Bravest Individual” reprise at the finale, we knew she was going to survive. It was a five star performance in a five star show!

Peter Pinne