Productions - Sweet Charity
New rhythm for much loved friend
This week's hot ticket has to be Hereford Amateur Operatic Society's current production of Sweet Charity, running at Hereford's Courtyard Theatre until Saturday.
Director Richard Thomas has shaken the cocktail that is this professional organisation until it has fizzed, and you can taste the passion of the new direction.
With more simple sets than we are used to seeing from the Amateurs and costumes that have been borrowed from Worcester as well as made in-house, more of the budget has been spent on the actual staging of the show. Subtle and sophisticated lighting being just one obvious result.
Pizzazz
Combined with the powerful, rounded performance of new lead actress Sarah-Jane Price this has brought the much loved local company bang up to date.
The evidently capable choreographer and dancer Sarah-Jane has proved herself the consummate professional once again. As well as turning her hand to acting and singing we see her execute superb comic timing both in the Vittorio Vidal bedroom scene and her meeting in the lift with Oscar. It's a script that relies heavily on the powers of Charity to keep the audience on side and one which this young actress accomplishes with charm and pizzazz.
Great musical numbers aside (Big Spender, If My Friends Could See Me Now and a truly wonderful rendition of Rhythm of Life) the choreography steals the show in many ways and the wonderful Rich Man's Frug in Act One will have your shoulders lifting along with the music. Stylish simplicity is reflected in the Mary Quant outfits and chic haircuts of the 1960's.
Unabashed
This is the first time the Society has revisited the musical that Bob Fosse made famous since 1974 when, apparently, both Hereford and the Society were a little shocked by it. Both have obviously matured a little since then.
The sharp, unabashed performance that the hostesses from the Fan-Dango Ballroom give (especially of the aforementioned number, Big Spender) is tip top. With strong supporting performances from the male leads, Cliff Spooner as the suave and handsome Vittorio and David Van Den Bergh as the wonderfully gawky Oscar Lindquist and Adele Alexander as Nickie the die is set.
If this is the new rhythm for the Society, then long may it live.
JULIE HARRIES
