Charity's Last New York Stand
Then too, it's hard to forget the last time Charity played New York, in the form of a one-night-only benefit performance for AMFAR-Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The concert staging was performed at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall on June 15, 1998, and today I thought I'd look back on that night and on a Charity that the new revival would have been hard-pressed to equal.
For the occasion, Fosse's original choreography was carefully recreated by his long-time assistant, Kathryn Doby. Fosse died in 1987. But the original Charity, Gwen Verdon, was in charge of overall musical staging, and she also helped with the script abridgement. John Bowab, who had been active in staging various companies of both Charity and Mame, directed the concert. Throughout the evening, the stage would be awash in musical-theatre history, with countless interconnections between performers.
For a great opener, Charity composer Cy Coleman, a top-notch jazz pianist, played an expanded version of the overture at the piano, accompanied by musical director Jack Lee's sixty-piece orchestra. After the warm ovation, host Whoopi Goldberg appeared to introduce the show.
In an amazing display of time defiance, Chita Rivera, who had played Charity in the '60s U.S. touring company, appeared, posed in the celebrated silhouette that opens the show, then moving into Charity's opening, solo dance. Looking and performing as if she were ready to play the whole role again, Rivera then did "You Should See Yourself," complete with all the original moves. Chicago revival's David Warren-Gibson dead-panned as "Dark Glasses." Ending by throwing herself into the lake actully the orchestra pit, Rivera's first turn here was priceless, but she would be back throughout the evening.
In "The Rescue" sequence, Charles Nelson Reilly played the dirty old man, while former New York City mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch played the cops who attempt to help Charity.
Then it was time for the evening's first change of Charitys. In the scene backstage at the Fandango Ballroom, Donna McKechnie, who headed the national company of the '86 Broadway revival, became Charity. From Cy Coleman's current Broadway musical The Life, Lillias White and Pamela Isaacs were two of the Fandango ladies. Arriving to recreate a bit of her '86 Tony-winning performance as Charity's dancehall comrade Nickie was Bebe Neuwirth. Dom De Luise was boss Herman.
Needless to say, the audience greeted the initial tableau of "Big Spender" with a roar. The girls were mostly from The Life including Sharon Wilkins, but in the center were Neuwirth and Rivera, two Nickies Rivera played the role in the film as well as the original Velmas of the two Broadway productions of that other Verdon-Fosse musical, Chicago.
Backstage again at the Fandango, the role of Charity was turned over to Debbie Allen, the original star of the 1986 Broadway revival, who was reunited with her '86 co-star, Neuwirth. For this scene, Neuwirth read Helene's lines, while Rivera took Nickie's. As usual, "Charity's Soliloquy" was cut the number was back for Christina Applegate and Charlotte d'Amboise in the 2005 revival.
Outside the Pompeii Club, Charles Nelson Reilly was the doorman, Allen remained as Charity, and, as battling lovers Ursula and Italian movie star Vittorio Vidal, we got Marla Maples and Robert Goulet. This led to another exciting recreation, all three sections of "Rich Man's Frug."
At Vittorio's apartment, Reilly was the manservant and Allen was still Charity. Perhaps best able of the stars present to handle the demands of Charity's big solo "If My Friends Could See Me Now," Allen really came to life dancing the number. For the final section of the number, Allen was joined by two more Charitys, Rivera Allen and Rivera were Broadway's two West Side Story Anitas and Neuwirth who understudied Allen's Charity in '86 and got to go on when Allen took a brief vacation.
Maples arrived at Goulet's apartment, and it was time for one of the show's comic highlights, the scene in which Charity is forced to hide in Vidal's closet. Allen entered the closet, announcing "Gwen Verdon told me to," then, to a tumultuous standing ovation, Verdon herself emerged from the closet to do the bit of business in which Charity stocks up on food for her night in the closet. In the 2005 revival, Charity snuck out of the closet early and didn't spend the whole night there. Verdon was forced to acknowledge the prolonged applause twice, but was finally able to enter the closet to perform the pantomime sequence.
Early on, the door frame that separated Verdon from Goulet and Maples gave way, causing Verdon to take a sizable fall, which she handled gracefully. Verdon won more applause for the bit involving a puffed cigarette and a garment bag. Meanwhile, Goulet sang "Too Many Tomorrows" in his customary, rhythm-challenged fashion.
Back at the Fandango, McKechnie was Charity, Rivera was Nickie, and Neuwirth was Helene for "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This," which was thrilling when the three ladies took off in dance.
At the 92nd Street Y, Whoopi Goldberg was the information person. Neuwirth arrived as Charity, and Oscar was introduced in the person of Jim Dale, who was only so-so in the elevator scene that concludes the first act. "I'm the Bravest Individual" was heard with its '86 revival melody, the one Neuwirth sang as Charity on Broadway. The 2005 revival reverted to the original '66 melody for both "Bravest Individual" and the title song.
As the second half of the concert opened, emerging from the elevator were McKechnie and Brian Stokes Mitchell, on his night off from Ragtime. They visited the "Rhythm of Life" church, the number led by three-time Tony winner Hinton Battle, who pushed a bit too hard.
In the next scene, "Baby Dream Your Dream" was delivered by The Life co-stars Lillias White and Pamela Isaacs, who provided a spirited and well-received performance.
Stuck on the parachute jump at Coney Island were Stokes and Debbie Allen. He sang the title song superbly; as in Allen's '86 revival, the film melody was heard. Back at the Fandango, Marisa Tomei appeared as the new girl at the dance hall, named Rosie. Tomei was at one point announced for the role of Charity in the 2005 revival. "Where Am I Going?" went first to Allen, who was joined by Rivera and McKechnie, making up a trio of former Charitys.
At Barney's Chile Hacienda, the Charity-Oscar confrontation was played by McKechnie opposite the original 1966 Broadway and '69 film version Oscar, the distinguished John McMartin. By some strange coincidence, McMartin took a sizable fall, just as his original Charity '66 co-star had done earlier in the evening. For "I'm a Brass Band," Neuwirth got an opportunity to show off her dance skills, even if the number was somewhat abbreviated.
Back at the Fandango for Charity's farewell party, there was the evening's most bizarre cameo, none other than Betty Buckley --in her Mystery of Edwin Drood drag, and billed as "B.B. Drood"-- as one of the Fandango's loyal customers. Drood took the Best Musical Tony in '86, the same year Charity won Best Revival. The belty Buckley alternated lines with Dom DeLuise in "I Love to Cry at Weddings," and it was the evening's sole mistake.
In the final scene, McKechnie and McMartin were still Charity and Oscar. Nicely played, it ended with McMartin pushing McKechnie into the orchestra pit, just like Rivera in the first scene. The Good Fairy was enacted by Whoopi Goldberg.
At the end, all five Charitys struck the final pose, then joined hands for a bow. After the lengthy curtain calls, the final bow went to Coleman and Verdon, without whom Charity would never have existed.
Missed was Ann Reinking, who followed Allen as Charity in the 1986 revival; Reinking was unable to attend because she was rehearsing the Australian company of the Chicago revival. No-shows listed in the program included Carol Channing, who was to have been the Good Fairy; Jerry Orbach, who was to have shared the role of Vittorio with Goulet; and Helen Gallagher, the original '66 Nickie and Charity understudy, who was to have been one of the Nickie/Helenes.