How to deal with a dance legend

MANILA, Philippines - Much has already been said and critiqued by those here and abroad who have watched Sweet Charity from 1966 to the present. And yet it remains popular, as has often been stressed, not so much for the story of a kind-hearted harlot, but for the creative legacy of dance wizard Bob Fosse from half a century ago.

Nikki Gil who plays Charity in 9 Works Theatrical’s version of the Neil Simon-Bob Fosse franchise said so herself in not so many words. Yet we feel this is not completely accurate. We would prefer it said that the musical stands on the equal excellence of both the dance ensemble and the lead star, in this case Nikki. This actor is amazing. She has completely peeled off the character of Charity Hope Valentine from the script and made it her own. She lives and breathes Charity, inconceivable that such a person might even exist. And as the musical progresses, we begin to believe that Charity could indeed exist, and that she is neither stupid, naïve or playing dumb. She is for real.

Never having watched Sweet Charity anywhere, we decided to watch on the second weekend and let it gel. In the meantime, we spent time reading up on Bob Fosse, watching videos of his stage musicals and films for days on end. Although Fosse wore many hats as actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter and film director, it is obvious his excellence was in dance choreography. In the ’50s, Fosse got his feet wet choreographing Broadway musicals The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. Then he went solo, directing and choreographing, often both theater and film versions that included Pippin, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Big Deal, Chicago, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, All that Jazz, detouring into other genres directing the Lenny biopic of comic Lenny Bruce starring Dustin Hoffman in 1974, and Liza Minnelli’s television concert Liza with a Z. We even learned from Rajo Laurel’s blog that he choreographed Beyoncé’s Single Ladies! “I was fixated! I must have watched it on loop for a hundred times!” declared the talented fashion designer. For his various works, Fosse won the Tony, Emmy, Oscar, even Cannes’ highest award, the Palme d’Or.

Sweet Charity is still an engaging rom-com. Favorite song and dance numbers are simple and optimistic.

Fosse’s Sweet Charity which won the Tony in 1966, and its film version with Shirley Maclaine, Ricardo Montalban and Sammy Davis Jr. in 1969, posed the greatest challenge to Filipino director Robbie Guevara. He couldn’t afford not to do it right, not to get the perfect choreographer to re-stage it. Deana Aquino was it, with her three decades with the Aldeguer Dance Company which pioneered Fosse moves in Manila. “She knows Fosse like the back of her hand,” said Robbie.

Deana calls herself a Fossemaniac starting with Sweet Charity which she watched in the movie house at 13. Three words to her that describe Fosse’s movements “Inventiveness. Wit. Freshness.” This style had jazz infused with a “stylized, cynical sexuality” that hadn’t been seen locally in a long time. It was a challenge to Deana who accepted all the handicaps of actors who were not dancers, moves they had never done before on a marathon rehearsal time. Ultimately, Deana reveals, “They themselves were surprised with what their bodies could do.”

We watched the musical sitting on a monobloc on the aisle, the only remaining space left. But we insisted on this date and never regretted it. We had watched all we could on the web, from school productions to touring shows, from good to middling to bad shows including Christine Applegate’s so-so portrayal in the 2005 Broadway revival. We sat transfixed by Maclaine’s film version particularly her winning I’m a Brass Band number on empty streets surrounded by tall buildings, and the inimitable Sammy Davis Jr. doing Rhythm of Life. We replayed The Rich Man’s Frug from the same Maclaine film 10 times, being the only pure dance number in the play.

We got involved eaves-dropping in on bloggers battling it out as to who was the true genius of dance, Fosse or MJ? “MJ was the dancer from God, the others simple talents. MJ didn’t steal no dance moves.“ One enjoined us to check out Bob Fosse’s A Snake in the Grass to prove how “Michael Jackson took and made it uniquely his own” while another agreed “Amazing similarity but I would have freaked out if Bob Fosse started to moonwalk!!!” Interesting, but we were getting waylaid. All we wanted was to see how our local counterpart would measure up to expectations of a Bob Fosse dance musical.

Our personal non-professional assessment — out of the 15 musical numbers. The popular Big Spender deservedly set the milieu and characterization of the body-for-rent girls, as well as the bravura Rhythm of Life performance by OJ Mariano (Star in a Million finalist) delivered the hippie generation guru’s message. Both came out better than good. In film, Sammy Davis Jr. had played the guru.

But for the purity of a Fosse dance, it had to be The Rich Man’s Frug where his signature jazz style would need to be executed precisely. This was the sideways shuffling, turned-in-knees, rolled shoulders, jazz hands (that is found in MJ), with props influenced by Fred Astaire like bowler hats (said to hide his baldness), use of gloves (to hide his hands), canes and chairs. This is a really difficult number where our mix of actor non-dancers managed a seven on a scale of one to 10. Kudos to professional dancer Carmelle Ros as the lead female. It is possible the company followed choreographer Deana’s instructions to the letter. She had said, “Love whatever you do on that stage like it’s the last time… and that chance will never happen again.”

Still, one must not forget that Sweet Charity is still an engaging rom-com. Other favorite song and dance numbers are simple and optimistic, as Charity is to the end as she delivers I’m a Brass Band, If My Friends could See Me Now, and I’m the Bravest Individual You have Ever Met while wiping the tears off her eyes.

From left: Sheree Bautista, Nikki, Kris Lawrence and Ciara Sotto

Main cast of Sweet Charity includes theater newbie Kris Lawrence who gave the performance of his life as the latest suitor to junk Charity; the trio of Bar Hostess friends Ciara Sotto, Shiela Martinez, Sheree Bautista providing excellent support; Miguel Faustman the bar owner; and Angela Padilla as Ursula, girlfriend to Italian film star Vittorio Vidal (again OJ Mariano). Sweet Charity runs weekends until Aug. 27 at the RCBC Theater in Makati. For details, call 586-7105 or 0917-5545560.   

(E-mail me at [email protected].)