‘Sweet Charity’

Pierrot Productions tells the story of Charity Hope Valentine at Kelsey Theatre.

By: Stuart Duncan

"image"
Pierrot Productions is staging Sweet Charity in


West Windsor through May 1, with Melissa Marschner (third from right) in the
title role.


   Neil Simon had a real challenge in adapting The Nights of Cabiria from the motion picture by Federico Fellini to the stage for a musical. For one thing, the heroine was, to put it in the vernacular of the day, "a lady of easy virtue." Simon changed her stated profession to that of a dance-hall hostess. Moreover, he glossed over her sordid life and gave her a name — Charity Hope Valentine — suggesting her poignant longing for love. He did such a good job of it that by the Broadway opening — Jan. 29, 1966 — many of the critics were disappointed at the unhappy ending.
   Critics also were surprised that unlike Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple, two of his hit shows already running in New York, Simon did not resort to sprinkling gags throughout the script. A few perhaps, but most of the humor in Sweet Charity is ironic, not comical. He did, however, write a tour de force role for whomever played the lead; on stage virtually the entire time, hardly a costume change, hardly a chance to catch one’s breath.
   This means that any group staging the show had better have a leading lady that not only can sing with the best, and dance with the angels, but have the stamina of a bull. Pierrot Productions has just such a talent for its current revival at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College. Melissa Marschner has played all over New Jersey in roles such as Lola in Damn Yankees, Irene in Crazy for You and Wendy in Peter Pan. She is so good as Charity that at moments, especially in her solo dances, you would swear she had studied with Gwen Verdon. She can shake the theater walls with "If My Friends Could See Me Now," then touch your heart with "Where Am I Going?"
   Last season’s revival at Bucks County Playhouse offered a single actor (Jim Lynch) the opportunity to play all three of the major male roles. (It turns out that director, Michael Licata, had understudied all three roles a decade earlier in summer stock and knew a single actor could cover all three.) But Pierrot director Pete LaBriola had the talent available, so he cast the roles as custom suggests, with three performers. Luddy Iezzo plays the volatile Italian film star Vittorio Vidal with a twinkle in his eye, and his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Kurt Penney plays Oscar Lindquist, the only man who really conquers Charity’s heart with honesty and sincerity. And Jim Palmer has great fun as Daddy Brubeck, a 1960s hippie leader.
   The girls of the Fandango Ballroom seem more well-scrubbed than usual, and Joanna Woodruff and Abbey Newell stand out. Andrea Cartagena has some wonderful moments as Vittorio’s passionate but insecure wife. Louis Woodruff conducts a super pit orchestra (except it really isn’t in a pit, but rather tucked into a tight corner, stage right). It may just be the best musical group in a long time at Kelsey. It gets a real workout between scenes, during too-long stage waits for scenery changes. Kelsey is not the site for a show that shifts scenes literally in mid-sentence.
   Still, any production that traps its stars in an elevator and then leaves them there, in plain sight, during the entire intermission, deserves attention.
Sweet Charity continues at Kelsey Theatre, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, through May 1. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15, $12 seniors, $10 students/children. For information, call (609) 584-9444. On the Web: www.kelseyatmccc.org