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Sweet Charity
Presented by: The Production Company
Venue:
The State Theatre, Melbourne
Reviewer: Simon Parris
Date Reviewed: 18th July 2007
The Production Company has burst back onto the Melbourne Theatre
scene with the ever popular classic Sweet Charity. Full of classic
songs, colourful characters and energetic dance routines, Charity is
a crowd pleasing hit.
First mention must go to Sharon Millerchip who owned the stage as
Charity Hope Valentine. Sharon mugged and shimmied her way through
the show and had the audience in the palm of her hand throughout.
Impossibly slender, her dancing was a delight to see. Sharon nailed
all the comic moments, sang her heart out in the show-stopping
numbers and negotiated her way with apparent ease through the
trickiest of Charity’s musical soliloquys. Charity’s joy, relief and
disbelief at her engagement to Oscar were palpable and moving, and
made the unhappy ending all the more affecting. Sweet Charity is
worth seeing for Sharon Millerchip’s performance alone.
 Not that there is not plenty more to recommend about this
production. Director Nancye Hayes keeps the pace high as the scenes
flow effortlessly from one to another. As Charity ricochets through
her pinball machine of a love life, the characters she meets are
clearly drawn and the humour is fully realised.
MD John Foreman gives a sparkling rendition of the score, with a
fabulous brass section that is used to great effect. Choreographer
Ross Coleman has taken advantage of the slightly longer rehearsal
period to present a couple of the most spectacular numbers seen at
TPC. Rich Man’s Frug brought the house down, although it was
disappointing that only about half of the number was used.
Set Designer Shaun Gurton lifted the standard of production of TPC
yet another notch with multiple trucks bearing furniture and a
projected backdrop of stunning, historic photos of Manhattan. Kim
Bishop made the unusual choice in costume designs of outfitting the
company in orange, green and blue.
Despite all the hard work and incredible talent that is clearly
evident in this production, there is the problem with the slightly
rambling book for Sweet Charity. It comes across as a series of
vignettes searching for a plot and there are some long book scenes,
particularly in act one. Even though the score contains some of the
greatest musical hits of all time, such as If My Friends Could See
Me Now and The Rhythm of Life, there are also some clunkers.
In one of several departures from music theatre convention, the
leading man in Sweet Charity does not show up until the last scene
in act one. Matt Hetherington channels Leo Bloom to play Oscar as a
bundle of nervous ticks. In this breathy, dweebish characterisation,
Oscar’s ghosts and fears seem almost visible as they crush him to
the point of breaking Charity’s heart.
 However familiar Alan Fletcher might be as a performer, his singing
in the role of Vittorio Vidal is a revelation. He gave a passionate
and thrilling rendition of Too Many Tomorrows. Louise Bell and
Kirsten King were a treat to watch as Charity’s glamorously attired
and coiffured best friends Nickie and Helene. Alan Brough (Spicks
and Specks) made a splash in his one big scene as Big Daddy. Troy
Sussman added to his impressive catalogue of character roles as
Herman. Mark Doggett also gave great support by playing all the
ensemble acting roles (with a couple of dance steps thrown in as
well!)
Overall, there is much to admire and enjoy in TPC’s Sweet Charity.
Attendance is highly recommended.
Bookings at Ticketmaster:
http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/artist/1122856
Simon has appeared in more than 30 productions over the past twenty
years. Recent roles include Eugene Fodor in Crazy for You
(Whitehorse) and Mr Fox in Mack and Mabel (CLOC). Other favourite
roles include Max in The Sound of Music, Freddy in My Fair Lady,
Julio in Paint Your Wagon, Marcellus in The Music Man and Grantaire
in Les Miserables. In 2005, Simon was nominated for a Guild Award in
the category Best Cameo Performance for his role as the Judge in
Hello, Dolly! (Whitehorse).
Simon is also a keen audience member, having seen over 50 shows in
five weeks on a recent trip to
New York
and London. Simon has served on the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria
Committee for three years, and is currently Treasurer.
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