Sweet Charity – BROADWAY CAST****

Overture/You Should See Yourself/Big Spender/Charity’s Soliloquy/If My Friends Could See Me Now/Too Many Tomorrows/There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This/I’m The Bravest Individual/The Rhythm Of Life/Baby Dream Your Dream/Sweet Charity/Where Am I Going/I’m A Brass Band/I Love To Cry At Weddings/Finale-Charity’s Theme

The Broadway musical Sweet Charity starred Gwen Verdon. It opened at the Palace Theatre in January 1966 and ran for 608 performances. Based on the romantic events in the life of a young New York taxi dancer. Music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields. (US:92)

"Cy Coleman's other work has been distinguished and attractive enough, but it was with this show that he left a permanent mark on the history of the American musical theatre. The story of is an uproarious and very moving fable about love, trust and their implications. This potent mix of emotions emerges fully from the original cast album. Coleman's score (with fine lyrics by Dorothy Fields) is dazzling, ranging from the haunting Where Am I Going? to the exhilarating I'm A Brass Band."

"Sweet Charity is one of the greatest of Broadway musicals. Very rarely has it been bettered than in the original 1966 cast album. Gwen Verdon found her greatest stage role in Charity Hope Valentine, the down-on-her-luck dancehall hostess with a heart of gold. Verdon belts out her numbers in her own trademark style."

"This is a Broadway musical that has it all, The best thing, though, is the performance of Gwen Verdon in the title role. Just through her vocals, you will be able to imagine her in her prime, hoofing, mugging and charming you as she did with so many lucky audiences over her long, illustrious career. A great tribute to all the creative forces involved in the making of this durable, toe-tapping musical."

"A Cy Coleman score sung by Gwen Verdon and staged by Bob Fosse. A book by Neil Simon. Why did it only run a year and a half? Quite possibly because it is never quite as good a show or score as it ought to be. There are moments that sizzle: Big Spender; There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This and especially Where Am I Going? But some numbers are pale: Too Many Tomorrows and I'm The Bravest Individual are just not showing the authors in top form."

"The score is a bit uneven, probably as a result of the unlikely pair, Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields. The songs that are good, however, are infectious showstoppers."