Did Broadway Critics Find Fun, Laughs, Good Times at Sweet Charity?

After a complicated series of twists and turns, the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theater on May 4 with Christina Applegate in the title role. Did it show critics a good time?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Ken Mandelbaum in his Broadway.com Review: "Cilento's choreography may in spots quote Fosse's original, but it is otherwise new, and it lacks style and wit. As a result, the big numbers fail to ignite... The staging by Walter Bobbie, who directed the blockbuster revival of a certain other Verdon-Fosse musical, is likewise lacking in a style that might unify Charity's elements.. The new ending feels abrupt and unmotivated, and Applegate and O'Hare have a hard time selling it... Applegate has abundant sweetness and vulnerability, and she's warmly appealing... [But] Applegate lacks the effortlessness of top-notch musical-theater performers. She knocks herself out to please, but comes off as blandly proficient and mechanical. Likable and a hard worker, Applegate is neither distinctive, versatile, nor fascinating enough to carry a Broadway revival of Charity."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: " [Applegate] exudes a soft hopefulness and a sterner determination that suit her character, an unlucky dance-hall hostess in eternal pursuit of love. She has a comic polish that considerately stops short of polyurethane sheen, and an easy, conversational way with a song, even if her voice isn't always on pitch. But as a character meant to be a shopworn angel, Ms. Applegate looks more like a merry cherub, an ingénue fresh from the suburbs. More important, in the musical numbers, she seems to grow smaller rather than bigger, which is one thing that definitely should not happen if you are playing Charity Hope Valentine... The show is steeped in a fuzzy, Pop-colored campiness that whispers raspingly, 'Weren't the 60's a hoot?,' and includes visual references to Andy Warhol the person and Color Field painting. This sensibility translates more attractively into the show's costumes by the omnipresent William Ivey Long than into its set Scott Pask and lighting Brian MacDevitt, which suggest quickly set up, psychedelic-themed store displays at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Mr. Cilento's choreography is similarly ersatz and soft-edged, acknowledging and blurring the original Fosse blueprint.... The dances never achieve more than a low-grade fever."

Clive Barnes of The New York Post: "It's pretty damn good. And Christina Applegate--much maligned for her talent and condescendingly admired for her spunk and persistence--is damn good as well... Applegate, as pretty as a picture and as cool as a Popsicle, emerges from the entire ordeal of this opening triumphant and glistening. .. Walter Bobbie's nifty staging has been completely rethought and retooled. The choreographer Wayne Cilento doesn't simply Fosse-lize the dances, but gives them their own punch and individuality. The always dazzling, always unexpected Denis O'Hare does such an exultant, cartwheeling star-turn as the shy but prissy suitor Oscar that he almost overturns the applecart, not to say Applegate... Applegate has the edge of youth and a natural vulnerability compared with the more contrived vulnerability of both Verdon and later D'Amboise. Of course, the role of Charity is better than the musical itself, but when Coleman's music is blazing along like Sousa in a dark jazz overdrive, if the Charity is right, as here, you'll have a great time."

Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "The show far exceeded the minimal expectations it had raised. So did its star, Christina Applegate, who is a winning and deeply likable performer. She sings well and kicks with gusto. Whether she is credible in the title role—a dance-hall hostess who imagines love is just around the corner—raises larger questions. Charity was always a problematic show. Director Walter Bobbie has not made it stronger, but the score remains joyous, and Applegate is, above all, endearing. Still, the story is awkward... The biggest flaw is the 'romance' between Applegate and Denis O'Hare, who plays a prissy accountant. Nothing about their relationship is credible, which means the whole second act has no narrative pull. The best part of Sweet Charity has been its Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields score, especially 'Big Spender,' which gets a rousing rendition."

David Rooney of Variety: " Sweet Charity has a plucky spirit that won't be denied, and that's largely due to Christina Applegate. While the Broadway novice had musical purists clucking at the Great White Way's colonization by TV stars before anyone had given her a chance, Applegate turns out to be sweet, sexy, vulnerable and giving, her unforced performance providing a booster shot of gusto and heart to help fill the voids of Walter Bobbie's uneven production and Neil Simon's eternally problematic book... From the moment Applegate twirls around the Central Park lamppost that caused her injury, it's clear she's this production's salvation. She nails the character with disarming sincerity and deft comic timing; the audience is with her from the start... Indeed, the handicap here is not a star without a Broadway pedigree but the lackluster stewardship of Cilento and Bobbie... Whatever its weaknesses, the enduring appeal of Sweet Charity in the end boils down to having a lead capable of inspiring as much love as she recklessly hands out, and Applegate fits that bill."

Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "Applegate exudes a perky confidence, capturing Charity's incongruous innocence as a woman who works at the notorious Fandango Ballroom... Applegate's voice is small but serviceable and her dancing understandably a bit cautious. Yet she doesn't have the outsized personality required to carry the show... O'Hare is commandingly funny, even touching, until a bizarre twist at the end of the show. And there are generous supporting performances from Janine LaManna and Kyra Da Costa as two of Charity's dance-hall cohorts, Paul Schoeffler as the Italian cinema biggie and Ernie Sabella as the owner of the Fandango."

USA Today: "It's hard to imagine anyone imbuing Charity with more irrepressible gumption or sheer heart, which are exactly the qualities this character requires, first and foremost... It doesn't take Applegate long to make Charity the sole focus of our concern, and our delight. Whatever awkwardness she conveys in movement or speech seems as natural as it is endearing. And it makes us embrace the pluck she shows in stronger moments all the more heartily... Applegate doesn't just hold her own in the company of such practiced pros; she soars, hobbled foot notwithstanding. If you can see her now, you should."

Linda Winer of Newsday: "[Applegate] turns out to be a sweetheart. She sings fine—think Betty Boop with a hint of vibrato. She has the upturned nose of a curious puppy, an endearing clown of a smile and an expressive way with physical comedy... Denis O'Hare almost makes us care about Oscar, the neurotic geek and virginity junkie who might be Charity's white knight. He is so disarming, in fact, that we feel betrayed by the character when Oscar turns against her. The new ending, with Charity discovering her own strength, is supposed to be upbeat. Sadists might agree. The Fandango dancers look more like hookers now. Janine LaManna and Kyra De Costa have a healthy vulgarity as Charity's pals. The production numbers—in a disco, in a hippie church, in a marching band—are more absurdly irrelevant than ever. Scott Pask's scenery is low on both logic and imagination, and the sign in the chili restaurant misspells chili. William Ivey Long's costumes have a satiric sense of period and street, if not much charm. And hey, big spenders, at these prices, Charity deserves more than one dress."