Playwright: Neil Simon, book;
Cy Coleman, music; Dorothy Fields, lyrics
At: Drury Lane Oak Brook,
10 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace
Phone: 630-530-0111
Runs through: May 18
A few years back, a bus and truck touring production of 'Sweet Charity ' rolled through town. We dutifully attended the opening and we were left with a profound sense of 'eh.' It wasn't exactly boring, just rather pointless. Charity's mishaps with men hardly seemed worth the two-hour time investment, never mind the ticket prices that non-critic civilians would shell out to see the show.
And while it's a bit below the belt to compare productions, after taking in the Drury Lane Oak Brook's Sweet Charity, all we can say is—to quote one of the show's more jubilant numbers—what a set up, holy cow. This is a show that—to continue with Dorothy Fields lyrical stylings,– leaves you with a tingle in your toes and a tingle in your feet. And in your heart. It is also unquestionably the best production –in terms of design work, acting and choreography—that the Drury Lane has done since Gary Griffin was in charge back in the 1990s.
The show's choreography will forever fall within the shadow of the great Bob Fosse, particularly the TKO showstopper 'Big Spender.' But Mitzi Hamilton ( BTW, the inspiration behind the character of Val in A Chorus Line ) has managed to both honor Fosse and wrest the piece from the iconic choreographer's mighty grasp. Whether lined up at the rail dourly cooing at potential clients to have a few laughs or slanting their way through the exquisite ( and hilarious ) Rich Man's Frug, Hamilton has the ensemble moving like a well-oiled machine redolent of sex and exhilaration. Also worth noting for its ultra-groovy, utterly infectious humor is The Rhythm of Life, wherein cool cat messiah Daddy Brubeck ( Darren Matthias ) leads his acolytes through a writhing gospel of peace, love and illegal herbal smokes.
At the huge heart of Sweet Charity is Summer Smart, whose Charity Hope Valentine - dance hall hostess at night, hopeless romantic 24/7—is rarely less than the quintessence of joie de vivre, even when she's as down on her luck as a drowned cat in a Central Park pond.
The whole shebang comes under the emotionally intelligent and playful direction of Jim Corti, who crafts a 1960s world straight out of a Peter Maxx poster. Brian Sidney Bembridge's set—a psychedelic panorama of colored lights and swirly blue backdrops - is a clever stunner.
As for the corps of sardonic taxi-dancing beauties, they're as wry and cynical as you'd expect gals who find that eight years later they're still stuck in their temporary jobs.
And for all Charity's obsession with finding the right man to rescue her from the Fan-Dango Ballroom, Sweet Charity is no sexist throw-back to the time when finding the right—or any—husband was all. Charity, in the end, stands on her own, resilient, optimistic and a bona fide survivor.