Steamy opener heats up the theater season

Review, by Joel Davidson

Sultry hips and long smooth legs kicked off Valley Performing Arts' 29th season with a provocative opener in the musical comedy, "Sweet Charity."

With a frosting of snow on the mountain tops and a cool breeze outside, approximately 75 ticket holders filed into the theater Sunday afternoon. While it may have been a tad nippy outside, but snappy show tunes from an eight-piece ensemble and a lot of dirty dancing warmed up the theater in a hurry.

Leading lady Sara Hughes played the role of Charity, a sweet girl working at a shady dance hall, where a few "faithful" customers pay to spend time with the lady of their choice.

Hughes, who also starred in last year's season opening musical "The Sound of Music" brings boundless energy to her latest role. Her strong singing voice was impressive despite the aerobic workout of fast-paced dancing through many of the songs.

In the opening scene, Charity is robbed by her sleazy boyfriend and thrown into a pond, where she nearly drowns.

As the musical unfolds, the childlike Charity searches in vain for a man who would truly love her and, despite the skepticism of her fellow dancers, holds out hope that the perfect man is waiting for her. Each time Charity speaks of finding true love, the other dancers roll their eyes at her naive trust in questionable men.

Hillarie Helen Putnam and Louanne Harris brought spunk and attitude to their dancer roles, dishing out worldly wisdom to the childlike Charity. Dressed in skin-tight gowns and slit skirts, some of the other dancers seemed a bit awkward dancing around in their revealing outfits.

Hughes does a great job combining seductive savvy with youthful innocence, and her character never quite accepts the hardened skepticism of her fellow ladies of the night.

Ted Carney played Vittorio Vadal, an Italian movie star who invites Charity up to his residence after snatching her off the street to replace his angry girlfriend, who refuses to attend a public appearance with the womanizing Vadal.

Charity welcomes the affection of the famous Vadal and, despite his less- than-admirable intentions, she is only too pleased to replace Vadal's girlfriend. Carney is a veteran actor who successfully pulls off an Italian accent for this role. Carney pays attention to the smallest mannerisms and stage movements, and his flamboyant character continually coaxed laughter and applause from the crowd.

When things don't pan out with Vadal, Charity falls for the pathetic but lovable character, Oscar, played by Warren Foster. Thankfully Foster doesn't have too many singing parts, where he frequently struggles to keep the tune. Foster more than makes up for his limited vocal talents, however, by combining impressive physical acting and attention to dramatic pauses to bring his character to life.

Charity and Oscar meet when an elevator get stuck on their way to therapy classes. Foster's hypochondriac episode in the elevator, right before intermission, is one of the highlights of the play.

The set design and changes were impressive throughout the show as set crews transformed the stage into a park, dressing room, dance hall and office building. At one point, actors were even suspended from the ceiling.

By the end of the performance, a wiser Charity emerges, shaking off her chain of disappointments and pressing on. She's a little less naive as she crawls out of yet another mishap into the pond but she is still smiling and no less hopeful.