Character guide
Vittorio Vidal
from Sweet Charity
Vittorio Vidal is a supporting character in Sweet Charity, Cy Coleman's 1966 musical, playing a famous Italian film star who briefly sweeps Charity into his glamorous orbit.
- Show
- Sweet Charity
- Broadway premiere
- 1966
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Cy Coleman
Vittorio Vidal on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1969 film
James Luisi originated Vittorio Vidal on Broadway in 1966; Ricardo Montalban played him in Bob Fosse's 1969 film, where the Italian movie star is renamed Vittorio Vitale. The episode is the same in outline: Charity meets him just as he breaks up with his girlfriend, Ursula, and spends a glamorous night with him. On stage, when Ursula returns to the Pompeii Club, Charity is bundled into a closet, and Vittorio sings Too Many Tomorrows.
The character traces back to Alberto Lazzari, the movie star played by Amedeo Nazzari in Fellini's 1957 film Nights of Cabiria.
Who is Vittorio Vidal?
Vittorio is a celebrated Italian movie star who impulsively brings Charity along after a public quarrel with his girlfriend, giving her one glittering night inside a world of wealth and glamour completely foreign to her usual life. Though the encounter goes nowhere romantically, it briefly lets Charity imagine a different kind of life.
Charming but self absorbed, Vittorio treats the night as a passing diversion rather than anything meaningful, and his easy return to his real romantic life afterward underscores how far outside his world Charity actually is.
Vittorio's role in Sweet Charity
Vittorio is a supporting role concentrated in a single extended sequence, when Charity ends up hidden in his lavish apartment, a scene built for a performer who can bring larger than life star power and comic charm in a short amount of stage time.
James Luisi originated the role on Broadway in 1966. Audiences remember Vittorio less for depth of character than for the contrast he provides, a glimpse of glamour that highlights just how far Charity's real life is from the fantasy she keeps chasing.
Vittorio Vidal: frequently asked questions
What show is Vittorio Vidal from?
Vittorio Vidal is a supporting character in Sweet Charity, which opened on Broadway in 1966.
Is Vittorio Vidal a lead or supporting role?
Vittorio is a supporting role, a famous film star who briefly brings Charity into his world.
Who wrote the music for Sweet Charity?
Cy Coleman composed the music for Sweet Charity, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields.
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