***  One of the hardest parts of running a small theater company has to be what productions to put on. The other problem in deciding is the venue that is being rented for the show. I think that Blank Theatre Company has a lot of guts in deciding to do “Sweet Charity”, a 1969 musical on the stage of The Greenhouse Theatre Center- upstairs ( a smaller venue). This is a “Bob Fosse” dance show, so it takes a lot of stage, but somehow, director Johanna McKenzie Miller and choreographer, Lauren Schmelzer, put their heads and ideas together and made it look great!

This play is 56 years old. Hard to believe! Has it stood the test of time? Probably not completely, but the story is still fairly solid. With a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, “Sweet Charity” tells the story of a young lady named Charity Hope Valentine ( the adorable Teah Kiang Mirabelli0) whose name says it all. She is a young lady hoping to find love, but so far has been hurt by all of those she thought might be “Mr. Right”. She is what is called a “taxi dancer”. This is not easy to explain- there were dance halls, back in those days. Men could go to one of these halls, buy a dance ticket, and then turn the ticket over to a young lady and then dance with her.

The story begins with Charity having her life savings stolen from her by a “boyfriend” who tosses her into the river, and leaves her. We then get to meet her co-workers and watch her routine as she never gives up. She needs to find love and happiness. Nickie (Keley Taylor) and Helene( India Huy), her besties and co-workers are there for her, but know that she will never find what she dreams about, because this is the real world, and wishes are for fairy tales. She does encounter a famous movie star Vittorio Vidal ( played to perfection by Eldon Warner-Soriano) who tries to woo her, but when his lover returns, ends up being a special feather in the cap of Charity. This is where “If My Friends Could See Me Now” enters in the show.

There are some great numbers that many of us have forgotten were from “Sweet Charity”: “Big Spender”, “Rhythm Of Life”, “Where Am I Going”, and “I Love To Cry At Weddings” are just a few of the numbers that you might know once you hear them come alive. “The Rhythm of Life” is a very spiritual number with the entire cast involved and you will definitely feel as if you are at a church of some special type. Just prior to attending this, she meets Oscar Lindquist ( deftly handled by Dustin Rothbart) a true nerd with many problems. They are stuck in an elevator and a true romance begins- they are a match! Or are they?

I will not give away the ending as it needs to play out in front of the audience. Remember, the book is by Neil Simon and the lead man’s name is Oscar, so let your mind wander a bit and think of this romance as a different or perhaps odd couple. The ensemble is as energetic as one might anticipate in a musical, and they are only a few feet away from the “front row”. Patty Roache, Damoondre Green, Ciara Jarvis, Madison Jaffe-Richter, Andrew John-Baker, Eli Gorman, Daniel Hurst, Dijon Michelle Kirkland and Melody Rowland- great work! Great dance numbers! Great costume and character changes! Wow!

Amy C. Gilman’s set is interesting as it is quite plain and simple, but with an accent here and there, a table, or signage, we know where we are and when we are there. Clever work by Miller, I am sure. The lighting (Ellie Humphries) worked and the sound could have had some microphones on the actors for their lines. They did their songs fine, but young actors need to relearn the principle of playing to the last row. Abby Gillette handled the props and Cindy Moon, the costumes. I guess I was confused by the lack of costume changes for Charity. She wore the same dress for the entire show, which for want of a better way to say it were days and days- one dress. Shame on her costumer.

There is one dance number that is the original Bob Fosse choreography- “Rich Man’s Frug” and I loved the fact that Schmelzer did the top hat and cane in “See Me Now”. Bravo!

The Musical Director, Aaron Kaplan, has worked these cast members well and we heard the music as it was intended to be done. The five piece orchestra never outdid the voices of the performers.

“Sweet Charity” will continue Thru – Jun 8th with performances as follows: