Sweet Charity

Willoughby Theatre Company’s visually spectacular production of the musical Sweet Charity is one to be talked about for years to come. The large energetic and talented cast did the Neil Simon, Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields script and score true justice in their storytelling and superb song and dance.

In conjunction with the opening night of Vivid Festival (which has also branched out to Chatswood) the stage was full of colour through the use of a brilliant lighting design / operation by James Wallis and Matthew Lutz. From the moment you walked into the Concourse Theatre it was evident that there would be a lot of screen projection imagery used. In some shows I haven’t been a big fan of the use of projection, but here it just seemed to work.

The set by Simon Greer worked a treat for the actors to perform on, while some very clever ideas for getting sets on and off ensuring minimal blackouts for set changes. One piece in particular stands out - a single lift mechanism through the middle of the stage for the “Lift Scene“, when Charity and Oscar are trapped in an elevator. It had no walls or ceiling, relying on cast members miming the confined space, which they did with great comic presentation.

Eye-popping creations from Joy Sweeney and her costume team took the show to another level in more ways than one, with my favourite costumes the hippy gear in “The Rhythm of Life” and the sophisticated society outfits in the Fosse dance routine “Rich Man’s Frug”.

Sweet Charity relies on the main character Charity Hope Valentine being an excellent triple threat (dancer, singer, actor). In this production our story-telling lead was played exceptionally by Amy Curtin. She not only looked the part, but also played Charity with the necessary amount of vulnerability, on top of her dance and vocal skills. Amy mastered the Fosse moves and the solo musical numbers, especially in the number “If my friends could see me now”. The other characters of significance who Charity meets on her journey include the girls she works with at the Fandango Ballroom, Nickie and Helene. Kathryn Harradine and Taryn-Lea Bright played these two with great comic timing, dancing up a storm in “There’s gotta be something better”. The leading men in the show – Vittorio, the film star, and Oscar, Charity’s boyfriend - aren’t as strong as the female roles but both roles were acted well. Matt Hourigan as Vittorio sustained the Italian accent throughout all his scenes, receiving deserved rousing applause for his number “Too Many Tomorrows”. Jack Westbury-Driscoll as Oscar had good chemistry with Curtin, although perhaps overacting in moments and seeming nervous in the musical number “Sweet Charity”. A smaller role that stood out was that of Vittorio’s passionate lover Ursula, played strongly by Dylan Hayley.

The production team of Director Janina Hamerlok, Harrison Collins and Melissa Ayers have collaborated together brilliantly and their vision for bringing this production to the stage must be commended. Bringing together the large cast on the stage in ensemble numbers was a delight to watch and painted a wonderful picture onstage in every scene. Collins’ orchestra really brought the whole theatre to life and were synced well with the sound in the venue. Ayer’s choreography would have pleased Bob Fosse and his style was evident, perfectly performed by all cast.

This production would have to be one of the best of this musical I have seen over the years.  It’s a must see for lovers of the show like myself or anyone seeing it for the first time.

James Russell