NEW YORK -- You certainly can't blame a gal for trying. Still, try as she might, Christina Applegate is unable to pull off the star-of-a-musical-comedy thing. Her turn as the bright-eyed, hard-luck dance-hall vamp Charity Hope Valentine in the robotic revival of "Sweet Charity" is rich in moxie but devoid of savoir-faire.
Given the pluck she's shown in recent weeks, there is some temptation to give her a pass, to overlook her lack of song-and-dance capabilities, the skills that defined the role for predecessors including Gwen Verdon and Debbie Allen. Applegate, an erstwhile regular on TV's long-running "Married . . . With Children," broke her foot during "Sweet Charity's" out-of-town tryout, an injury that initially led the producers to cancel the Broadway engagement. The actress's reported lobbying -- and a vow to be in shape for last night's opening -- prompted a reversal of their decision. She displayed the sort of gutsy self-assurance that can, apparently, melt the most pragmatic of show business hearts.
But valiant behavior is no replacement for musical talent or the know-how acquired in years of stage experience. Applegate possesses neither. She has limited musical theater instincts -- she wanders off-key rather often -- and though she makes admirable attempts to move like a real dancer, you're aware in every pivot that she isn't one. (The character, after all, is supposed to dance for her supper.) These deficiencies are as fatal to the production as root rot is to a garden.
"Sweet Charity," at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, has a zesty score by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields -- "Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now" are among its show-tune standards -- and a lumpy book by Neil Simon. All in all, it hasn't aged well. If it once got by on razzle-dazzle (Bob Fosse directed and choreographed the original in 1966) and the charms of a perky-quirky heroine, a staleness has settled over "Charity" in its strained humor and cutesy plot mechanics, all revolving around a hooker with a 24-karat ticker.
Director Walter Bobbie, who guided the revival of "Chicago" to Broadway mega-success, can crack no similar code for "Sweet Charity." He's got less to work with here, and it shows. The production conjures the '60s in loud paisley backdrops and tie-dyed miniskirts, though William Ivey Long's costumes are, for once, not particularly witty. The choreography by Wayne Cilento, meanwhile, quotes Fosse in predictable ways. Cilento's pale version of "Rich Man's Frug," a number that cleverly sends up the dance crazes of the period, incorporates Fosse gestures but is drained of sexiness. "The Rhythm of Life," a satirical number set in a New Age church that opens the second act, is performed here without an iota of the necessary tongue-in-cheekiness.
Charity's search for a better life is the fulcrum of the musical. Distilled from Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria," the show chronicles Charity's efforts to wean herself off a tawdry existence and settle down with a nice guy. The irony is supposed to be that despite the hardness she's acquired sidling up to strangers in the night, she's retained the optimism and purity of a schoolgirl. It's a star vehicle, one that depends on a Charity who can seem to have been around the block a few times and still shower some average Joe with puppy love.
In a little red skirt and winsome smile, Applegate tries to cultivate Charity's air of saucy indefatigability. She plays virtually the same aw-shucks note all evening, in a slight New York accent. It's no surprise that the moments of light comedy, as when she's forced to hide in the closet of an Italian film lothario (Paul Schoeffler), are her best.
The romance with nebbishy Oscar (Denis O'Hare), however, is pretty much a complete bust. Is this hyperactive bundle of nerves what Charity's been waiting for? O'Hare, so thrilling as the demented Charles Guiteau in last year's revival of "Assassins," seems to have sensed a vacuum in the center of this production and been encouraged, misguidedly, to try to fill it. He overdoes the phobic reactions in their meet-cute elevator scene -- this Oscar seems headed not for matrimony but for the psych ward -- and generally makes of himself the type of suitor Charity would have wanted to avoid after a night of irritating couplings at the dance hall.
Pros like Ernie Sabella and Janine LaManna strive to make something of wispy supporting roles, but their contributions don't matter much. It's impossible to get past the miscast lead. You end up feeling sorry for this Charity Hope Valentine for all the wrong reasons.
Sweet Charity , music by Cy Coleman; lyrics by Dorothy Fields; book by Neil Simon. Directed by Walter Bobbie. Choreography, Wayne Cilento; sets, Scott Pask; costumes, William Ivey Long; lighting, Brian MacDevitt; sound, Peter Hylenski; orchestrations, Don Sebesky; music director, Don York. With Shannon Lewis, Corinne McFadden, Kyra Da Costa. Approximately 2 hours 40 minutes. At the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 W. 45th St., New York. Call 800-432-7250 or visit http://www.sweetcharitythemusical.com/ .
