OTR review: Sweet Charity

Bringing an end to the 2013 On the Rocks Festival was Sweet Charity, a musical about a dancehall hostess who just wants to be loved.

Vicki Robertson delivered song after song beautifully, and while her portrayal of Charity wasn’t quite as saucy as the role is generally performed, her sincerity made the character not only likeable, but also relatable.

Frazer Hadfield was excellent as Oscar, Charity’s neurotic love interest, for his performance brought the intensity and excitement the production would have lacked otherwise. However, it was Brendan Macdonald who completely stole the show playing Vittorio Vidal, an Italian film star Charity spends the night with (sort of) after she witnesses him have a fight with his girlfriend. Macdonald’s seductive Italian accent and grandly over-stated gestures kept the audience in stitches from the moment he entered the stage. Though Vidal is not a huge role, his performance was, for me, the highlight of the night.

Less astounding were the characterisations of Charity’s two best friends from the Fandango Ballroom. Mimi Von Schack’s performance as Nickie was solid, but I felt that there was more power lying underneath the surface of Nickie which, had Von Schack delivered to the role, would have made it exceptional. Though Anna McDonald is no doubt a very talented singer, her depiction of Helene was disappointingly bland, without any clear sense of characterization. This was a shame because the roles of Nickie and Helene are meant to complement each other, and when played to their fullest, can be a show-stopping comedic duo. However, this perhaps signifies an overlook in direction more than anything else.

Meg Asano’s Fosse-esque choreography was spot-on, and the ensemble did a notable job depicting this attitude within the musical’s many intricate dance numbers. Sweet Charity is known to be a very high calibre dance show, and while I was mostly impressed with the talent of the ensemble cast, in some instances there seemed to be a noticeable lack of confidence for a few of the dancers in regard to where they should be and what move was coming next. This was very distracting and took away from the fluidity of the group as a whole. I also felt that the chorus’ vocals could have been stronger, particularly during “Rhythm of Life,” which should have easily been the most energetic number of the musical.

Also, it appeared that a massive heap of the production’s budget must have gone towards costumes for the dancers, all of which had fabulous gold and black sequined dresses, among other costumes as well. However, if this was the case, I have to question why the costume for Tommy Rowe’s character, Herman, consisted of a rectangle-shaped pillow stuffed underneath his suit jacket. Don’t get me wrong, I love a little stuffing in the gut for a comedic role, but after seeing how much money was spent on costuming, having a large rectangle protruding from his was a poor decision. The sets were also a bit lacking, particularly their usage of a draped black curtain to represent the bridge Charity falls off of and into the pond. 

My critiques resonate from what I consider to be unmet potential for this production, which is only a testament to the incredibly talented cast. Sweet Charity is nonetheless an enjoyable show, with catchy songs and exceptional dance numbers, all of which are further enjoyed by the addition of a live band. If you are a fan of musical theatre, or simply enjoy watching a gal who has worse luck with relationships than you do, head over to Venue 1 tonight for the final performance of Sweet Charity at 7:30pm!