[NEohioPAL]Berko review: SWEET CHARITY (Porthouse) 7/27/07

[Roy Berko]

MaryAnn Black and Eric van Baars delight in ‘SWEET
CHARITY’ at Porthouse

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

--COOLCLEVELAND.COM--

‘SWEET CHARITY, now on stage at Porthouse Theatre, is
noted as a dancer’s show.  In order for a production
to be successful it must have a star who is not only a
prima dancer, but can sing well, act proficiently, and
has a personality that sparkles.   

There seems to be no question that the venue’s
Artistic Director, Terri Kent, who also serves as
director of the show, chose the script because she had
the very talented MaryAnn Black available.  Black, who
has become the darling of  Porthouse patrons, is the
quintessential Charity.  She is in the mold of Gwen
Verdon, who starred in the original 1966 production,
Shirley MacLaine who was in the 1969 movie, and Debbie
Allen who was in the show’s 1986 Broadway revival.

‘SWEET CHARITY,’ based on Federico Fellini's
screenplay for “NIGHTS OF CABRIA,” has music by Cy
Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil
Simon.

The plot centers on Charity Hope Valentine, a dance
hall hostess. She longs to settle down, but the men in
her life simply love her, use her and leave her.  One
steals her purse and throws her in a lake; another, a
movie star who is trying to get back at his
girlfriend, takes Charity to his apartment, but shoves
her under a bed when his girlfriend appears.  Finally,
she is trapped in an elevator with Oscar, a neurotic
who eventually seems to be the man she has waited for.
  But... (Okay, the plot isn’t great, but I’m not
going to ruin it by telling you how the whole thing
turns out.) 

The show’s excellent score includes “You Should See
Yourself,” “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than
This,” “The Rhythm of Life,” and “Where Am I Going?”

The Porthouse production is very entertaining.  Though
the script is dated, many of the cast are way too
young and lack the necessary sleezy edge to be playing
their roles, and the orchestra on opening night kept
hitting musical clinkers, Black and Eric van Baars, as
Oscar, Charity’s obsessive boy friend, make the
negatives fade away. 

Though she has matured to the place where doing all
that singing and dancing can be draining, Black comes
through once again.  She lights up the stage.  “I’m a
Brass Band” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now” are
definite show stoppers.   The segment in which she
gets caught in an elevator with van Baars has to be
one of the most delightful scenes seen on a local
stage.  It’s worth going to the show just to see this
ten minute interlude.

van Baars is excellent.  He sings and acts well and
shows comedic talent that is endearing.

Jim Weaver does a fine vocal job on “Too Many
Tomorrows,” and Sandra Emerick and Nicole Perrone add
some nice bits as two of Charity’s fellow hostesses.

An added attraction is a cameo appearance by my former
student, Roe Green, the patron saint of many of this
area’s theatres.   This is her first ever  on-stage
appearance.  The casting is type perfect!  (You’ll
have to see the show in order to understand this
reference.)

Some of the show is too slowly paced.  “Big Spender,’
usually a dynamic music number dragged.  “The Rhythm
of Life” was rather blah.

John Crawford’s choreography is generally creative
(no, not of the level of Bob Fosse’s original
stagings).  Unfortunately Crawford was blessed with a
dance corps, with the exception of Black, which shows
little real dancing talent.  This blunts the overall
effect.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   ‘SWEET CHARITY’ is the kind of
show that, with a good production, is an audience
pleaser.   From the reaction of the opening night
crowd, audiences will enjoy the Porthouse production.

‘SWEET CHARITY’  continues at KSU’s Porthouse Theatre
through August 12 .   For tickets call 330-672-4102.
or 800-304-2363.



Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


       
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