2:11pm Wednesday 7th April 2010
By Giles Woodforde
Large, inflatable ducks float up from the Playhouse orchestra pit at the beginning of Musical Youth Company of Oxford’s production of Sweet Charity. The reason? The pit has magically turned into a lake, and Charity has fallen most convincingly into it.
“Oh my ga-ad, I’m in Australia,” she cries as she’s hauled out. “What a stupid broad,” drawls a bystander. Charity is in the “rental body business” (as one of her friends charmingly puts it), and works at the Fan-Dango Ballroom, New York. Boss Herman (a splendidly seedy performance from Andy McIntosh) encourages fraternisation with the punters, and soon Charity attracts the attention of Italian film star Vittorio Vidal (Fred Cambanakis, looking suitably shifty). “You don’t believe I spent the night with Vidal?” asks Charity on her return the next day. “No!” chorus her co-hostesses.
For a brief while, there is nothing Vidal won’t do for Charity, but he melts away like ice cream in a heatwave once his domineering regular girl (Jess Glenn, most convincing) discovers what is going on: “You B picture actor!” she snarls. Vittorio is replaced by nice, wholesome Oscar (played by Henry Jenkinson with excellent understatement). Charity tells him that she works in a bank.
Sweet Charity is just the job for a company like MYCO. Not only are there some meaty principal roles, but composer Cy Coleman has also provided plenty of strong, tuneful, chorus numbers – Big Spender, The Rhythm of Life, and the thoroughly emotional I Love to Cry at Weddings among them. Using Bob Fosse’s original choreography as a base, director Guy Brigg has cleverly expanded the dance routines to encompass a far larger chorus than Broadway could ever have afforded.
I saw the show at the dress rehearsal, and while one or two of the principals will surely flower further once they have an audience in front of them, everything was very obviously in place for a major MYCO success – not least musical director Julie Todd and her swinging band. But Sweet Charity is nothing without someone good in the title role, and in Kelly Hampson the company has found a real winner: her performance positively glows and sizzles, even in an empty auditorium.
Director Brigg has set some big challenges: for instance, there is a sequence that requires the whole chorus to stand freeze-frame still for several minutes. This requires incredible discipline from everyone concerned, and was superbly realised, as was all the choreography. If a kid of mine was in this show, I would be mighty proud of them.
Sweet Charity continues at the Oxford Playhouse until Saturday. Tickets 01865 305305 or online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com
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