By Laura Lane
Tight direction by Mark Kenny and stunningly creative choreography by Irene Fotakis successfully resurrected the 1966 Broadway musical, a charming tale about a girl who just wants to be loved.
The play, originally written as a star vehicle for Gwen Verdon by her husband choreographer Bob Fosse, is the story of a hopelessly romantic dance hall hostess who wants nothing more than to meet the right man and get married. Renting herself out by the hour to men for dances, Charity-s had plenty of opportunities to meet men. But not surprisingly, they are never the right men, but Charity, a perpetual optimist, won-t give up.
In Clarke-s production earlier this month, triple threat Gina Occhiogrosso, in the lead role of Charity was simply wonderful. In I-m a Brass Band, she sings that music is pouring out of her which it is, but in this production, it-s talent that-s also pouring out of senior Occhiogrosso. Perfectly finding the essence of Charity, she-s charming, funny, vulnerable and, well...sweet. Perfectly suited for musical theater, this reviewer hopes she-ll continue her theatrical education to share her talents sometime soon on the New York stage.
Sam Colbert, as the hot-blooded matinee idol Vittorio Vidal, was perfect, which wasn-t surprising. Colbert has been performing at Clarke since middle school, bringing talent, reliability and focus to each role he tackles. His Vidal comes across as a genuinely nice guy who is intensely honest and caring. Even when Vidal is somewhat distracted by his own predicament, Colbert is able to convince us that contrary to his character-s self-absorption, he has not forgotten to be kind to Charity. In fact, so successful is Colbert with his portrayal, you can-t imagine him to be anyone other than Vidal on or off the stage.
So much of Sweet Charity is about emotion, whether it be an overflowing of it and the possible repercussions, or the pitfalls of being unable to express it, as is experienced by the character Oscar Lindquist, played to comic hilarity by Gino Gentilini-Pagonis. Gentilini-Pagonis is convincing as the befuddled accountant who promises to marry Charity but later backs out breaking her heart.
His moments trapped on an elevator are very funny, and then touching, when Lindquist, an admitted claustrophobic, allows himself to trust and then be comforted by Charity. In act II, Gentilini-Pagonis is given an opportunity to show his theatrical range when he realizes that he can-t marry Charity. Working the scene without the benefit of dialogue, he conveys his guilt, remorse, and anguish effectively after deciding that he-ll have to hurt the woman he loves because of his own inadequacies.
Alexa Grosskreuz-s performance was solid as dance hall girl Nickie, the girl who never seems to get a date on or off the dance floor. Nickie is wise beyond her years, hardened by her profession, but, as Grosskreuz leads us to believe, has a heart of gold and cares very much for her friend Charity.
Grosskreuz, also a good singer, has a strong full voice. Like Colbert, she-s performed in most of Clarke-s plays since middle school. Her performances are always interesting she-s definitely a talent to keep an eye on as she progresses as an actress.
The ensemble did a fine job. Standouts, were Alexandra Fanelli, as Rosie, the new kid in town, Karema Roushdy as the police officer who finds Charity-s predicament humorous, and Rachel Welt as Mommy Brubeck, the leader of a group of hippies who expressed their needs in a song that was both weird and mesmerizing, appropriately called the Rhythm of Life.
So much of the success of Sweet Charity was due to the fine vision of director Kenny. He-s so creative and always manages to draw the talent out of his young cast.
His sets, simply crafted, were perfect, conveying much. It was backstage at the dance hall, that the girls became real women. Sitting on hard wooden benches next to simple metal lockers they found the courage to shed their toughness and unlock their hearts to share their hopes and dreams. And the magic of a single Ferris wheel car surrounded by tiny glittering white lights, helped capture one of the warmest scenes in the show, the moment when Charity and Lindquest realize they are in love.
Much credit goes to the crew who built the sets. Charity, wouldn-t have been quite as interesting without their fine efforts.
The lighting was also noteworthy. Red lighting gave the dance hall sexual heat and tawdriness, and dim lighting in the locker room, helped remind us of the hopelessness the dance hall girls experienced each time they went to work.
The pit musicians were fabulous led by conductor Steve Barbieri. From the wailing of the trumpets, to the steady beat of the drum, the club came alive as did the passions of Charity highlighted by an interesting musical score.
Fotakis choreographed some great numbers. Standouts were Big Spender, If My Friends Could See Me Now, and the pretentious dancing of the patrons at the club. You couldn-t help but smile watching all of the dance numbers, and that-s a credit to Fotakis.
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
Photos by Andrew Vardakis/Herald
