A workshop production of the musical “Sweet Charity” is planned for this fall. Starring Tony Award nominee and Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, the workshop will be directed and choreographed by Jeff and Rick Kuperman, the Tony-nominated choreographers of “The Outsiders.”
“Sweet Charity” is based on the 1957 Federico Fellini film “Nights of Cabiria” and follows the unlucky love life of Charity Hope Valentine, a dancer-for-hire in a New York City club. The comedy, which features a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, first opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in 1966. The original Broadway production, starring Gwen Verdon, was directed and featured Tony Award-winning choreography by Bob Fosse. “Sweet Charity” received eight other Tony nominations that season, including Best Musical. The 1969 “Sweet Charity” film adaptation starred Shirley MacLaine in the title role and was directed by Fosse.
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The musical was revived on the Main Stem in 1986, starring Debbie Allen, and again in 2005, starring Christina Applegate. In 2016, Sutton Foster starred in an Off-Broadway mounting.
DeBose began her Broadway career in “Bring It On.” Later, she appeared as an ensemble member in “Motown,” the 2013 revival of “Pippin” and the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton,” a role she reprised in the 2020 live capture film. DeBose originated the role of Jane in the musical “A Bronx Tale” and that of Disco Donna — one of three versions of pop music icon Donna Summer — in the 2018 bio-musical “Summer,” that latter for which she received a Tony nomination. In 2022, DeBose took home an Academy Award for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film adaptation of “West Side Story.”
“‘Sweet Charity’ asks a question that feels urgent today: How do you keep an open heart in a world set on breaking it? Ariana has the wit, fearlessness, vulnerability and extraordinary physical command to make Charity entirely her own,” the Kuperman brothers said in a joint statement. “We’re approaching the musical with deep respect for its history while creating a contemporary theatrical language in which dance drives the story and Charity’s hard-earned optimism remains at its core.”
The “Sweet Charity” workshop is being produced by ATG Theatricals, Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Bee Carrozzini, Kevin Ryan and Lamar Richardson. Additional details will be announced at a later date.
