Show guide
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a 1966 musical about a warmhearted, endlessly hopeful dance hall hostess in New York City who keeps searching for love despite one disappointment after another.
- Broadway premiere
- 1966
- Music by
- Cy Coleman
- Genre
- Comedy
- Setting
- 1960s
Sweet Charity: quick answers
What is Sweet Charity about?
- Sweet Charity follows Charity Hope Valentine, a big-hearted dance hall hostess at New York's Fandango Ballroom who keeps falling for the wrong men, from a movie star to a shy accountant named Oscar, while hoping for a better life.
When did Sweet Charity open on Broadway?
- Sweet Charity opened on Broadway on January 29, 1966, at the Palace Theatre, starring Gwen Verdon, and played 608 performances before closing on July 15, 1967. Broadway revivals followed in 1986 and 2005.
Is Sweet Charity a Golden Age musical?
- Yes, at the tail end of it. Opening in 1966, Sweet Charity belongs to the last years of the Golden Age, with an original score by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, a book by Neil Simon, and Bob Fosse's direction and choreography.
Where and when is Sweet Charity set?
- Sweet Charity is set in New York City, mostly around the Fandango Ballroom where Charity works.
Has Sweet Charity played in London's West End?
- Sweet Charity opened in the West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre in October 1967, starring Juliet Prowse. A 2009 Menier Chocolate Factory revival with Tamzin Outhwaite transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2010.
Is there a Sweet Charity movie?
- The musical is based on Federico Fellini's 1957 film Nights of Cabiria. Bob Fosse directed the 1969 film version starring Shirley MacLaine, with John McMartin, Chita Rivera, and Ricardo Montalban.
The story of Sweet Charity
Charity Hope Valentine works as a dance hall hostess at the Fandango Ballroom, where she is paid to dance with men for tips, and she spends the show chasing the idea of a better life and a man who will truly love her. Her romantic misadventures include a brief brush with Italian movie star Vittorio Vidal and a hopeful, awkward courtship with the anxious accountant Oscar Lindquist.
Throughout, Charity is supported and teased by her fellow dance hall hostesses Nickie and Helene, who share her cynicism about men but also her stubborn optimism. The story, based on Federico Fellini's film Nights of Cabiria, moves between comedy and heartbreak as Charity's good nature keeps colliding with a world that rarely rewards it.
The music and the makers
The score was written by composer Cy Coleman and lyricist Dorothy Fields, with a book by Neil Simon and direction and choreography by Bob Fosse, whose sharp, angular dance style became inseparable from the show's identity. The songs mix brassy, jazz inflected production numbers with more tender, vulnerable ballads that reveal Charity's inner hopefulness.
Signature numbers include the showstopping Big Spender, performed by the dance hall hostesses, along with If My Friends Could See Me Now and There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This, all of which combine Coleman's jazzy rhythms with Fosse's distinctive choreography to define the sound and look of the show.
Sweet Charity on Broadway
Sweet Charity opened on Broadway on January 29, 1966, at the Palace Theatre, starring Gwen Verdon as Charity alongside John McMartin, Helen Gallagher, and Thelma Oliver, and it ran for 608 performances. The production received nine Tony nominations and won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for Fosse.
The show was adapted into a 1969 film starring Shirley MacLaine, and it has returned to Broadway in revivals in 1986, led by Debbie Allen, and 2005, led by Christina Applegate. Its blend of Fosse's choreography and Charity's bruised but resilient optimism has kept it a favorite for performers and audiences alike.
Sweet Charity: frequently asked questions
What is Sweet Charity based on?
Sweet Charity is based on Federico Fellini's 1957 film Nights of Cabiria, not a true story. Neil Simon wrote the musical's book, moving the story from Rome to 1960s New York City.
Is Sweet Charity a Golden Age musical?
Yes, though only just. Sweet Charity opened in January 1966, right at the tail end of Broadway's Golden Age of roughly 1943 to the mid 1960s, and its Bob Fosse choreography and sharper comic tone mark a shift toward a newer style.
Did Sweet Charity win the Tony Award for Best Musical?
No. Sweet Charity lost Best Musical to Man of La Mancha at the 1966 Tony Awards, winning only the Tony for Best Choreography for Bob Fosse.
Is Sweet Charity still running on Broadway?
No. The original production closed on July 15, 1967, after 608 performances. Broadway revivals followed in 1986 and 2005, and the most recent one closed on December 31, 2005.
When did Sweet Charity open on Broadway?
Sweet Charity opened on Broadway on January 29, 1966, at the Palace Theatre.
Who composed Sweet Charity?
Cy Coleman composed the music, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields and a book by Neil Simon.
What is Sweet Charity about?
It follows Charity Hope Valentine, a dance hall hostess in New York City who keeps searching for love despite repeated disappointment.
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