Sweet Charity on Disc: Part Two
The EMI America cast album of the '86 revival is a disappointment and quickly went out of print. The CD spine bills it as a "soundtrack." Running only forty-six minutes, it could have been much more comprehensive, and might have preserved previously unrecorded dance music along with several incidental items. The recording also tampers with the Ralph Burns orchestrations that were recreated for the production; "Where Am I Going?" gets a notably pop arrangement on the album. Needless to say, there's no "Charity's Soliloquy," and only two of "Rich Man's Frug"'s three sections are included.
The revival made two signficant musical alterations. "I'm the Bravest Individual," while retaining much of the original lyric, acquired a new, funkier melody for Allen and Michael Rupert's Oscar to perform. For the title song, Rupert got to sing the melody written for the film version rather than the original Broadway tune.
Allen takes a somewhat jazzier approach to the music. She's a solid singer, but lacks the vulnerability and kewpie-doll kookiness of Verdon and Prowse. In the theatre, she was funny and reasonably stellar, and her dancing was terrific. Rupert is quite good. Mark Jacoby does well by "Too Many Tomorrows." And one of the recording's attractions is Bebe Neuwirth's sardonic Nickie. Neuwirth made her first impact in this production, winning her first Tony while also understudying the Charitys of Allen and Reinking.
For those interested in the complete score, everything and more, in fact, it can all be found on JAY's double-CD, ninety-seven minute set, recorded in 1994 and released four years later. This album features much more material than any of the other recordings, including the complete "Rich Man's Frug," "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This," and "I'm a Brass Band"; the entr'acte; the rescue, subway and Coney Island sequences listeners may note that the melody of the "Coney Island Waltz" was recycled for the song "Love Makes Such Fools of Us All" in Barnum; transitional music; integral dialogue; and exit music. "Charity's Soliloquy" is also present.
As bonus tracks, there are the three movie songs, "My Personal Property," "It's a Nice Face," and the title song with the film tune. And everything is, of course, heard in the original Ralph Burns orchestrations, with Larry Moore contributing the charts for the film material. The only signficant Charity music not included here is the alternate version of "I'm the Bravest Individual" featured in the Allen revival.
Cast as Charity is Jacqueline Dankworth, daughter of singer Cleo Laine and musician John Dankworth. Dankworth was Cinderella in the London Into the Woods, but does not seem to have had substantial West End credits in the past decade. She's a fine singer, and characterizes the songs well enough. But she's an insufficiently exciting or memorable presence. Someone who actually played the role, like Donna McKechnie or Bonnie Langford, would have been a better choice.
The supporting cast is strong. Repeating her 1967 London role of Nickie is Josephine Blake, opposite the Helene of Shezwae Powell Children of Eden, The Goodbye Girl, 70, Girls, 70. Gregg Edelman is excellent as Oscar, and there are good contributions from Ethan Freeman "Too Many Tomorrows", David Healy "I Love to Cry at Weddings", and Clive Rowe "Rhythm of Life".
Martin Yates's conducting is sometimes sluggish, but if this is only a satisfactory performance, it's an invaluable reference.
Let's conclude with Sweet Charity's foreign-language cast recordings. There are four, and I lack one of them, the German version with Dagmar Koller as Charity. Of the others, the most interesting is the early-'70s French cast recording starring Magali Noel.
There are two surprises here. First is that Charity sings the movie's "My Personal Property" for her opening number, in place of "You Should See Yourself." The other surprise is that, singing the one-song "Too Many Tomorrows"/"J'ai Peur de la Vie" role of movie star Vittorio Vidal is none other than former Broadway leading man Sydney Chaplin Bells Are Ringing, Subways Are for Sleeping, Funny Girl. Chaplin still sings in that notoriously problematic if also curiously likable manner familiar from his Broadway recordings.
The recording lacks "Charity's Theme," "Charity's Soliloquy," and, surprisingly, the title song, which, one presumes, was heard in the production. In place of the overture, the recording substitutes the first section of "Rich Man's Frug." "Hey, big spender" is translated as "Hola, mon prince."
Noel is a cute, bubbly delight. She sings in a light but pleasing, high-placed voice, and her "Where Am I Going?" is especially good.
More comprehensive than the French disc is the first of two Dutch cast recordings. The 1969 Philips Dutch LP stars Jasparina de Jong, who is animated, vivacious, and an easy, confident singer. De Jong is the only recorded Charity who mixes the usual chest tones with occasional soprano sounds de Jong also played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. The supporting company is good, and there's an operatic rendition of "I Love to Cry at Weddings."
The 1989 Dutch CD on the Disky label documents a Joop van den Ende production that featured a recreation of Fosse's work by Chet Walker. Walker also recreated Fosse's work for the 1998/Bonnie Langford London revival. At only thirty-seven minutes, the second Dutch cast recording is a relatively brief account, lacking "The Rhythm of Life," "Charity's Theme," "Charity's Soliloquy," and "The Rich Man's Frug."
The '89 Dutch Charity stars Simone Kleinsma, who, like Verdon, would go on to play Roxie Hart in Chicago. She can be heard in the latter role on the recent Dutch cast recording. The vibrant Kleinsma is a much stronger singer than most Charitys-- she has lately been playing Donna in the Dutch Mamma Mia!-- and her performance builds to an impressive "Where Am I Going?"
The production uses the '86 Broadway revival version of "I'm the Bravest Individual" and, like that Broadway revival, employs the movie melody for the title song, nicely sung by Fred Butter.
A final note: In addition to its scheduled recording of the new Broadway revival of Sweet Charity, DRG is said to be planning reissues of the '86 Broadway revival and French cast recordings.