Sweet Charity - QMTS

Toe tapping glitz as Sweet Charity takes us on her search for love........
 
It was all toe tapping numbers and nightclub glitz at The Core Theatre tonight as the audience of Queensbridge Musical Theatre Society took us into the world of the Fandango House Dance Hall in New York with their production of Sweet Charity, by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields. 
 
It was interesting to read in the programme that there were a number of debuts among the cast and the production team. The Director Leonie Jai Hamilton and Choreographer Natalie Baines were making their respective debuts on the production side, whilst Sarah Odom (playing the lead role of Charity) and Michelle Farrugia  (playing the role of Ursula) were treading the boards for the first time as Principals with QMTS. However there was no evidence of this, as all the debutantes acquitted themselves with aplomb.
 
The role of Charity Hope Valentine, the dance hall hostess looking for love, was played with assured conviction by Sarah Odom. It is an extremely demanding role, as the character is hardly ever off the stage, and Sarah was more than up to the task, dancing, singing and acting her way with energy through Charity's attempts at finding love and very nearly achieving it. The bright and optimistic facets of Charity's character were really put across throughout the show. 
 
Her co-dancers at the Fandango House Dance Hall, Nickie and Helene, were played well by Karina Harris and Emily Fouracre, and Paul Stait particularly charmed the audience with his performance as Vittorio Vidal, the famous actor who Charity spends an evening with. 
 
The troubled Oscar, who Charity falls in love with, was played with assurance by Sam Troke, and they both acquitted themselves well in the elevator scene.
 
There are some big toe tapping numbers in this show, most notably 'Big Spender' and 'The Rhythm of Life', and these were delivered with gusto and confidence by the cast.  There was some excellent singing throughout, with tight harmonies and good diction. All the musical numbers were sung with enthusiasm and accuracy by the well drilled cast.
 
The set was very minimalistic but it worked very well and it meant that the production ran seamlessly throughout. 
 
The storyline is sometimes hard to inject with energy, as it is rather lacking in substance at times, but the entire cast, ably assisted by the excellent band led by Stephen Greenway, did very well with what is sometimes a challenging plot line. Credit really must go to everyone involved in this production for an entertaining and lively show.