Essay \"Sweet Charity Production Analysis\" - Grade A PDF

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Sweet Charity Production Analysis...

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Anna Radway THTR-T 100 Park, Poole, Emerson November 17, 2015

Sweet Charity Production Analysis Paper

Sweet Charity was a musical filled with many wonderful, different theatrical elements. Based on the production I witnessed of Sweet Charity, I have come to the conclusion that the director was trying to communicate an intrinsic interpretation of the text, as well as a production concept through the blocking used in the musical. The director of Sweet Charity interpreted the text in a very intrinsic way, meaning that he or she found meaning for the musical from direct cues within the text. This was very apparent to me due to the overall feel of the musical. This specific production of Sweet Charity took place in 1960s which was clearly a cue taken from the text because the musical was written in 1966. The characters were all also wearing very realistic costumes that people would be seen wearing in that time period. The characters talked in a very realistic way, which was a note from the director rather than being a note taken from the script. The director was trying to create a very realistic and true to script version of the musical. Another thing that the director used to generate a very realistic feel towards the musical was the use of props. Other than the scenery, the use of props was not overly excessive, which helped the audience create a greater bond with the story because it felt less like they were watching a play and

more like what was happening in front of them was real life. The props used were very realistic, such as a purse in the very opening scene, and empty buckets and cartons in the scene that included the homeless people. Another main element that the director used in his intrinsic interpretation of the text was blocking. Aside from the actual dance numbers that occurred, the blocking was very natural. One scene that especially stuck out to me was when Charity was pushed into the river by her current boyfriend, Charlie. The director could have used this as an opportunity for Charity to act extremely dramatically and over the top. This would’ve made the scene more comical than it was written to be, but instead the director chose to stay true to script and make the scene of Charity falling in the river very realistic. She didn’t flail her arms in an overly flamboyant way; instead, she fell into the river just like anyone else would. Another scene in which the director used blocking to display his intrinsic interpretation of the text to create a production concept was when Charity and Oscar met up at the diner to discuss Charity’s work situation. This is another moment where the director could have made the scene overly dramatic and overly sad to appeal to his/her audience in a comedic way, but instead the director chose to handle it in a very serious matter and have the characters act just how they would in a real life situation. The director gave the actors very clear and concise notes that would help them embody truth in order to portray what Neil Simon was imagining when he originally wrote the script. Charity and Oscar sat back to back in tow different booths at the diner, and the only blocking they were doing was when they each slightly moved their heads to talk to each other.

Overall, I found Sweet Charity to be a very well put together production. It clearly displayed elements of production concept through the way the director found meaning for the musical through direct cues from the text. The director also used blocking to illustrate production concept. I found Sweet Charity to be a very enjoyable show to watch, and based on the standing ovation, I think the audience did, too.

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