When it comes to optimism, Charity Hope Valentine bests ever other character in a Broadway musical.
Whatever life throws at the dance hall hostess from the 1996 musical “Sweet Charity” by Cy Coleman, Neil Simon and Dorothy Fields, the titular heroine dusts (or dries) herself off and carries on. Her travails range from financial impecunity to employment instability and from getting stuck in an elevator to dealing with a crummy boyfriend. Each and every time, she abides.
That idea of Gotham survivorship was the main point of the musical (which was adapted from a Federico Fellini movie that had been much heavier on the tragic pathos). But the main point of attending “Sweet Charity,” then and now, is the phenomenal Swingin’ Sixties score: “Big Spender,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “Where Am I Going?,” “The Rhythm of Life” (famously associated with the great Sammy Davis Jr.) and the title number, one of my favorite Coleman songs. Nobody writes ’em like that anymore. And, of course, the book is by the greatest comedic playwright of the middle years of the 20th century, so there’s that.
This bit of Broadway excellence (a product of its time, of course) is being produced in intimate fashion by the Blank Theatre Company, which has cast the show mostly with youthful actors, all of whom throw themselves at the material with much exuberance. I was quite taken with the show’s gutsy star, Teah Kiang Mirabelli, mostly because she so embodies the essential optimism of Charity, which is really what matters most. She’s not the traditional kind of performative, triple-threat Charity, a la Shirley MacLaine, but she’s real and vulnerable and Chicago-style and you’ll find yourself pulling for both performer and character, which is key to this show.
The rest of director Johanna McKenzie Miller’s production is a mixed bag. In any romantic comedy, you have to believe that the protagonist will be safe and happy with her potential partner and that means Dustin Rothbart, who plays Oscar, has to be careful not to play the end of the show from the beginning. He leans into the neuroses, which is fine to a point, but in order for the plot to work you also have to see and believe what Charity sees, too. This Oscar comes off as trouble from the start. Elsewhere, this otherwise likable company has some issues getting the scale of the space correct: sometimes, the show is under-vocalized; at others, things feel overplayed for the upstairs space at the Greenhouse. I suspect that will improve as the run continues but it was the show’s biggest problem on the night I was there. Easily fixed, too.
There’s much else to enjoy along with fabo Carnaby Street-esque costumes from Cindy Moon. As choreographed by Lauryn Schmelzer, Madison Jaffe-Richter anchors most of the often droll dancing and there’s some terrific singing from Kelcy Taylor, who just needs more confidence. This is a very hard show to pull off in this kind of space and the commitment and good humor of this creative crew is palpable.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Sweet Charity” (2.5 stars)
When: Through June 8
Where: Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: $37 at 773-404-7336 and blanktheatrecompany.org