Spotlight on Learninga Pioneer Theatre Company Classroom Companion

Spotlight on Learninga Pioneer Theatre Company Classroom Companion

Sweet Charity

Book by Neil Simon, Music by Cy Coleman, Lyrics by Dorothy Fields.

Originally Conceived, Choreographed and Directed by Bob Fosse. Based on an

original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano

Pioneer Theatre Company’s Student Matinee Program is made possible through the sup-port of Salt Lake County’s Zoo, Arts and Parks Program, Salt Lake City Arts Council/Arts Learn-ing Program, The Simmons Family Foundation, The Meldrum Founda-tion Endowment Fund and R. Harold Burton Foundation.

Spotlight on Learning is provided to students in Salt Lake County through a grant provided by the George Q. Morris Foundation

Approx. running time:2 hours and 30 minutes, including one fifteen-minute intermission.

Student Talk-Back:There will be a Student Talk-Back directly after the performance.

Sweet Charity Directed and Choreographed by Karen Azenberg

May 9 - May 24, 2014

Pictured: Fandango Girls Angie Schworer (Nickie), Nancy Lemenager (Charity) and Natalie Hill (Helene)

Sweet Charity—the story of a girl who wanted to be loved—was con-ceived as a contemporary fairy tale in 1966 by a team of geniuses: Bob Fosse, Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Neil Simon. They created it specifically for Fosse’s wife, the incomparable star Gwen Verdon, who made the musical into a hit.

Now retro, Sweet Charity is a snapshot of a very particular time and place: New York in the 1960s! Think women’s lib, hippies, flower power, the British Invasion (that would become The Beatles). Think miniskirts, tie-dye, group therapy and sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. All of them are hinted at, or explored, in this funny and little-bit-sad-and-dark musical.

Fifty years later, this piece still resonates. Not just because it has some of the best dance numbers ever. Not just because it has a few of the most recognizable Broadway songs ever. And not just because we’re able now to look back at the ‘60s with nostalgia. No, Sweet Charity succeeds today because it’s mythic: it’s the story of a girl who wants to be loved; it’s the princess in search of her prince; it’s Scar-lett and Rhett, Bogey and Bacall, Brad and Angelina; it’s the hope for a happy ending that can bring a smile to the most pessimistic of us.

Enjoy your time with Charity Hope Valentine, the eternal optimist—enjoy your trip back in time. I know I’ve enjoyed the process with the cast we have. We’re always so fortunate here at PTC to get amazing actors, singers and dancers from around the U.S., but I have to pay special tribute here to this especially extraordinary cast of triple-threats led by the incredible Nancy Lemenager. It’s been an honor and a thrill to spend the last few weeks bringing this story to the stage with them.

~ Karen Azenberg, Director-Choreographer

If You Could See Yourself - Charity’s story opens on a stroll through the park with Charlie, her current fiancé. As Charity plans their future, Charlie is as detached as the arm of an amputee – in fact, he has no lines in the entire scene. As Charity dips a toe into the lake, Charlie mugs her. With rose-colored glasses permanently attached to her psyche, Charity excuses Charlie’s be-havior and tells her friends that he was merely trying to keep her purse (with her life’s savings in it) from falling into the lake.

Charity works at the Fandango Ballroom as a dancehall hostess. Dance-halls were nightclubs where women were paid to dance with men. Also known as “Taxi Dance Halls” – so called because the women were paid much like taxi drivers: in direct relation to the amount of time spent with their client – these places had been around since the early 20th century. The profession’s reputation was less than stellar, partly because of clients’ behavior, described succinctly in the show by Nickie, Charity’s coworker: “Who dances? We defend ourselves to music.”

Big Spender - The evening shift at the Fandango begins with this iconic number as each of the girls attempts to attract the biggest tipper in the room. Charity ends the number with a firm determination to start a new life.

Rich Man’s Frug - After leaving, Charity passes another nightclub and bumps into Vittorio Vidal, a foreign film celebrity, with his girlfriend Ursula. Vittorio and Ursula fight, and Vittorio takes Charity for a night on the town - to make Ursula jealous. They enter the nightclub and the company takes us through “Rich Man’s Frug,” a nine-minute Bob Fosse choreography opus in three parts.

If My Friends Could See Me Now - Charity and Vittorio have dinner in Vittorio’s lavish apartment, where Charity sings out of awe for the rich-and-famous lifestyle. Soon though, the illusion is shattered as Ursula returns to make amends.

Too Many Tomorrows - Charity hides in the closet with her dinner until 5:00 a.m., when Vittorio and Ursula are back together again. Vittorio breaks the news to Charity with this crooner-style number.

There’s Gotta Be Something Better - Charity shows her mementos to her girlfriends at the dance hall, and they all dream of a better life.

A Song-by-Song Synopsis of “Sweet Charity”

L-R: Nancy Lemenager (Charity), Angie Schworer (Nickie) and Natalie Hill (Helene)

Nancy Lemenager as Sweet Charity

I’m The Bravest Individual - Charity tries to meet new people by going to the local YMCA. She gets stuck in an elevator with Oscar, a claustrophobic tax ac-countant, and sings this number to give him courage. The Rhythm of Life - Once free from the elevator, Oscar invites her to his church, which evolved from a jazz music group, and its congregants are most-ly people a little down on their luck. After a big song-and-dance introduction, but before the church service actually starts, the police break up the meeting.

Baby, Dream Your Dream - Oscar and Charity continue dating. Oscar decides, for some reason, that Charity works in a bank—and Charity decides not to

correct him. She soon falls for Oscar, and fantasizes about life with him as Nickie and Helene sing her this song.

Sweet Charity - Charity knows she must tell Oscar what she really does for a living, but the right opportunity never seems to come up. At Coney Island, a famous New York amusement park, they get stuck for a second time, this time on the Ferris Wheel. Now Oscar is the one who gives Charity some courage of her own.

Where Am I Going? - Charity finally gets the nerve to quit her job at the Fandango. She meets Os-car in a diner and tells him that she has been a dance hall hostess—although she can’t look him in the eye when she does so. She is surprised to find out that he already knew the truth; he had followed her there one night and stayed to watch.

I’m a Brass Band - Oscar not only tells Charity that he can forget about her old job, he then proposes to her. Charity cel-ebrates with this euphoric number, a big ensemble piece with lots of physical choreography and drumsticks as props for the whole company.

I Love to Cry at Weddings - Charity’s boss and friends from the Fandango throw her a surprise party, and sing this number. Finally Charity will live happily ever after! But Oscar, after join-ing the party, decides that he just can’t forget about Charity’s life before they met. He breaks their engagement. As they are walking through the park, Charity trying to save the relation-ship, Oscar trying to end it, Oscar makes his point by throwing Charity into the same lake she fell into at the beginning of the show.

As she pulls herself out of the water, a Good Fairy appears and says to Charity, “Tonight, it will all happen tonight.” Char-ity is again overcome by hope and optimism for finding her true love - because you just can’t keep Charity Hope Valentine down.

John Scherer as Oscar and Nancy Lemenager as Charity

The Rhythm of Life. Clockwise from left: Carly Blake Sebouhian, Gerry McIntyre, Courtney Iventosch and Lenny Daniel

KAREN AZENBERG (Director-Choreographer) PTC Artistic Director Azenberg is proud to have assembled a stellar cast of “triple-threats” (actor/singer/dancers) for this production.

BILL BATEMAN (Herman, Ensemble) Broadway: Gypsy (with Patti LuPone); Hello, Dolly!; Peter Pan; and Bring Back Birdie. National Tours: Annie Get Your Gun, Annie, Peter Pan, Woman of the Year, Pippin, Sugar, Hello, Dolly! and Irene. PTC debut.

JESSICA BLAIR (Ensemble) Hello, Dolly!, A Year with Frog and Toad, Dis-ney’s Beauty and the Beast and A Christmas Carol (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), and The Last Starfighter (NYMF). BFA University of Michigan, Musical Theater. PTC: A Christmas Carol: The Musical.

LENNY DANIEL (Asst. Director-Choreographer, Ensemble) A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Peter Pan, Brigadoon, Carousel, West Side Story and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (NYC workshop, all assisting Karen Azen-berg). Asst.-Dir., Wizard of Oz National Tour (w/Mickey Rooney and Eartha Kitt). Broadway: Cats, The Wizard of Oz.

RICHARD GATTA (Ensemble) Assistant Resident Choreographer for Billy Elliot the Musical, touring. International Asia tour of Grease the Mu-sical. National Tours: Fiddler on the Roof, The Pajama Game. PTC debut.

RHETT GUTER (Ensemble) International Tour of West Side Story; Gypsy and Follies at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, A Chorus Line and The Music Man at The Paramount Theatre; four shows at PCPA; and seven seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

NATALIE HILL (Helene) Broadway: Wonderland (Original Cast Record-ing), Bye Bye Birdie (Rosie u/s opposite John Stamos) and Grease (Cha Cha-Original Cast Recording). Las Vegas: Jersey Boys (Mary Delgado) and Footloose (Rusty). Three National Tours, many regional.

COURTNEY IVENTOSCH (Ensemble) Wicked (National Tour, including in Salt Lake City), On the Town (Ivy Smith, 5th Avenue Theatre), 42nd Street (Peggy Sawyer), Cabaret (Kit Kat, flutist, dance captain), Evita (Mis-tress), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Shimmy girl). PTC debut.

MICHAEL D. JABLONSKI (Ensemble, u/s Oscar) Broadway: The Book of Mormon, West Side Story, Cry-Baby. Tours: West Side Story; Saturday Night Fever; Doctor Dolittle; Best Little Whorehouse (w/Ann-Margret-Cast Recording); Victor/Victoria; Brigadoon.

Our Equity Cast

Bill Bateman

Jessica Blair

Lenny Daniel

Richard Gatta

Rhett Guter

Natalie Hill

Courtney Iventosch

Michael D. Jablonski

NANCY LEMENAGER (Charity) Broadway: Velma in Chicago, Brenda in Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel’s Movin’ Out and Penny in Never Gonna Dance; Kiss Me, Kate, Dream, How to Succeed… and Guys and Dolls. TV: Elementary, Girls, The Good Wife, 30 Rock, others.

SEAN MCDERMOTT (Vittorio, Ensemble) Miss Saigon w/Jonathan Price and Lea Salonga, Falsettos w/Mandy Patinkin, Starlight Express w/Jane Krakowski), Grease w/Lucy Lawless), title roles in Jekyll and Hyde, Jesus Christ Superstar; Hannibal Lecter in Silence! The Musical. TV: Desperate Housewives, Medium, Charmed and Guiding Light. Solo recordings avail-able on iTunes. www.SeanMcDermott.com

GERRY MCINTYRE (Daddy, Ensemble) Broadway: Uptown It’s Hot, Anything Goes (Patti Lupone), Once On This Island, Joseph… Many off-Broadway including Joan of Arc at the Stake with Glenn Close and Wil-liam Hurt. TV: Boardwalk Empire, Whoopi, Law & Order, others.

ADAM PELLEGRINE (Ensemble, u/s Vittorio) Broadway tours: Chicago and Urban Cowboy. NYC: The Naked Dead, Nutcracker: Rated R, Jane Kra-kowski Live at Town Hall. PTC: A Christmas Carol: The Musical.

JOHN SCHERER (Oscar) Broadway: By Jeeves, LoveMusik, Sunset Boule-vard, Funny Girl. Off-Broadway: Olympus on My Mind and Dames at Sea. TV/film: Spinning Into Butter, The Shield, Crossing Jordan, Titus, Guiding Light and Law & Order (all three series). PTC debut.

CAROL SCHUBERG (Ensemble) Broadway in Meet Me in St. Louis, Off-Broadway in Chess, in the National Tours of Cats, The Tap Dance Kid, Bar-num, Gigi. BFA, U of U and competed as a Ute gymnast at two National Championships.

ANGIE SCHWORER (Nickie) Broadway: Big Fish, Catch Me If You Can, Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago, Sunset Boulevard, Crazy For You, Will Rogers Follies. TV/film: Law & Order: CI, Queer Eye, As the World Turns, Smash, The Producers.

CARLY BLAKE SEBOUHIAN (Ensemble) Broadway: Phantom of the Opera. New York: Fiorello! and the workshop of An American in Paris. Carly trained as a ballet dancer at School of American Ballet and has performed with notable ballet companies in NYC.

Our Equity Cast

Nancy Lemenager

Sean McDermott

Gerry McIntyre

Adam Pellegrine

John Scherer

Carol Schuberg

Angie Schworer

Carly Blake Sebouhian