Sixty years ago, Broadway was a very different place. Though plays like “Death of a Salesman” and “Raisin in the Sun” were pushing the envelope of social critique, musical theater remained largely stagnant, regurgitating the same melodramatic “boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again” stories with the same formalistic ballet-inspired dance numbers.
Then along came “Sweet Charity” in 1966. The musical took the bleak story of Italian director Frederico Fellini’s 1957 drama “Nights of Cabiria” and set it against the backdrop of contemporary New York, swapping the film’s sex workers for hired taxi dancers.
With iconic choreography by Bob Fosse and a script brimming with Neil Simon’s signature humor, “Sweet Charity” was an instant classic. Songs like “Big Spender” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now” remain popular musical theater standards to this day.
But more importantly, “Sweet Charity” was a key part of a trend in Broadway musicals away from formulaic entertainment and toward provocative storytelling. Its commentary on gender roles in an era when women weren’t even able to hold credit cards was striking for audiences at the time and paved the way for future boundary-pushing musicals.
Now, East’s student actors, technicians and musicians are hard at work bringing their own version of “Sweet Charity” to the stage. The production opens Thursday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m., with 7:30 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday.
Hope Hynes Love, theater teacher and artistic director of East’s after-school productions, says she worked with students to choose this year’s musical. The group ultimately settled on “Sweet Charity” for both practical and creative reasons.
The show’s female-heavy cast seemed best suited to this year’s casting pool, since few male tenors were expected to audition. Additionally, the darker historical themes, complex musical score and intricate choreography of “Sweet Charity” posed a welcome challenge for returning participants.
“It seemed like the best fit to everything,” Hynes Love said. “The group of kids that we had in the room and who were coming back were like, ‘“High School Musical” was fun [last year], but I think we’re ready for a challenge.’”
Indeed, the production has been quite the undertaking for the students involved. Senior Chess Whitsell, who plays Charity, has had to assume a new level of responsibility as the show’s lead actress.
“It’s kind of nerve-racking because I was in the musical last year but I never sang, so I’ve never really sung in front of the school like this myself,” Whitsell said. “This is my first starring role and it’s a lot of lines, so many lines.”
According to her costars, Whitsell has risen to the occasion.
“We’re lucky we have someone like Chess who’s so talented,” said senior Isaac Robinson, who plays the male lead, Oscar. “She’s really the main star of the show. I’m in eight scenes and she’s in like 18.”
Playing in every scene, though, is the pit orchestra. Though the actors on stage typically get all the applause, unseen musicians and technicians put just as much work into their respective crafts.
“It’s hard,” said senior Zane Buckner, who plays trumpet in the pit. “It is way harder than I thought it was going to be. This musical specifically is just such a big-band sort of jazzy thing, and I’m playing first trumpet, and so all my parts are crazy fast and crazy high…and all of it is written in keys that have like seven sharps and I don’t even know how to play it.”
Bringing 1960s New York to life has likewise posed a challenge for theater manager Jeff Alguire and his crew of student “techies.”
“There’s so many locations,” Alguire said. “There are 13 different places depicted in the show, all around New York City, and the challenge is to be able to evoke those separate locations without changing the majority of the set very much… Fortunately, I think we’ve come up with a fairly clever way to do it.”
Despite the challenging nature of the show, cast and crew members say it’s provided a fun, supportive working environment.
“Working as part of a cast is honestly my favorite thing,” said senior Mitra Samei, who plays one of Charity’s fellow dancers-for-hire. “You spend all this time with these people, and you form these really, really, really strong bonds. It’s such a strong community.”
Tickets for all three shows can be purchased at eastreservations.org or at the door for a higher price. If bought online, tickets for the Thursday show cost $6.50, and tickets for the Friday and Saturday shows cost $10.
“People should come, because art uplifts and can be especially enjoyable when it’s their peers performing,” said Chorus teacher Desiree Davis-Omburo, who teaches the cast their singing parts and serves as rehearsal pianist for the show. Plus, “it’s somewhat naughty.”
Photos by Hammond Cole Sherouse/The ECHO
