‘Girls, Girls, Girls’, proclaims a massive neon sign above the Merrigong theatre’s stage. Eight scarcely dressed dancers sit astride their chairs, provocatively beguiling audience members as they file into the room. “Come have a dance with me, I’ll show you a good time,” calls one woman, pursing her breasts together and stroking her chair. We are in the seedy Fandango Ballroom of downtown New York – negligées, knee-high boots and sexual innuendo aplenty.
SWEET CHARITY (Book by Neil Simon, Music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Dorothy Coleman) completed the final days of an extensive tour on Saturday at Wollongong’s Merrigong Theatre, following a stint of shows at the Sydney Opera House. This is a remounting of the groundbreaking, award winning production that was such a success when it premiered at Darlinghurst’s Hayes Theatre.
Recreating the late 1960s classic play, the production flaunts sexy antics and flamboyant musical theatre. Emerging musical talent Samantha Leigh Dodemaide, leads a tremendously vibrant cast in the role of Charity Hope Valentine.
Unconditionally optimistic, Miss Valentine sells dances to a myriad of men as a dance hall hostess, where she scrapes by at the bottom of society. Yielding to the charm of every man that propositions her, Charity lives guilelessly devoted to the mantra: ‘without love, life would have no purpose’.
Despite its simplicity, the set design does an impressive job of transporting the audience into the dingy back alleys of 1970s New York. The story starts with Charity swooning over her latest lover, Charlie, a man she picks up at work. We watch as she pours her heart out and declares her love for him. All the while, Charlie is eyeing her handbag. Before long, Charity is pushed in the lake, and her week’s pay stolen.
Dodemaide expertly encapsulates the naivety and daftness of the character, whose golden heart refuses to let her spirits be hampered. The leading lady’s theatrical exuberance and hopeful quest for love is complemented by the banter of her cynical co-workers, who constantly remind her of her foolishness. “You run your heart like a hotel; you’ve always got people checking in and checking out.”
Directed by Helpmann Award winner, Dean Bryant, the two-and-a-half-hour performance is brilliant example of contemporary musical theatre. Dodemaide absolutely consumes every inch of the show with her bold and exceptionally loud vocals, thick Jersey accent and exhausting enthusiasm. Musically the play is genius with a fantastic blues band backstage, seamlessly transitioning the play’s scenes and complementing the eclectic range of equally talented vocalists. However, the very nature of show means that the voices and acting can, at times, become an overbearing cacophony. While that energy is totally contagious, it is equally exhausting; the intermission is a welcomed breather.
As sweet Charity finally finds ‘true love’ and announces her engagement to Oscar, a respectable but slightly unstable bachelor, Charity thinks her dream is finally coming to fruition. A heartbreaking ending has her back in the same place that her story began: the lake. At least this time, he is chivalrous enough to leave her purse behind after pushing her in.
Overall, SWEET CHARITY is a delicious slice of musical cabaret that makes for a fabulous night out. The characters, in all of their tackiness, have a definite charm about them that really makes their performances pop. It’s the sort of show you’ll never regret having seen, but you mightn’t have the energy to see twice.
SWEET CHARITY played the Merrigong Theatre, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong for only a brief season between the 11th and 15th March.