‘Sweet Charity’ Dances Into RTC

By Dan Guarino

A big summer musical with an even bigger heart, “Sweet Charity” comes bursting onto the stage at the Rockaway Theatre Company’s (RTC) John Gilleece Theater at Fort Tilden for 11 big performances starting opening night Friday, July 25. The well-loved classic production will run from then to Sunday, August 10.

Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays, plus Thursdays, July 31, and August 7, at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org.

“Sweet Charity” is a musical romantic comedy “set in New York City that centers around its titular character, Charity Hope Valentine,” said RTC’s Erech Holder-Hetmeyer, who is making his directing debut with this show. “Charity is a dance hall hostess…who loves hard and with her whole heart. As we follow her on her journey to find love, a rollercoaster of events happen that test her strengths and beliefs.” Throughout, he says, she still maintains her plucky, optimistic outlook on life. “It’s a funny, beautiful story about never giving up even if life hands you a bad hand.”

The original musical, premiering on Broadway in 1966 featuring songs by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields and script by Neil Simon, was directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. Based on a 1957 Italian film, “Nights of Cabiria,” in 1969, it was made into a movie starring Shirley MacLaine, and marked Fosse’s film directing debut.

“Sweet Charity” was nominated for nine Tony awards, winning for Best Choreography. With productions and revivals on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, and tours as far away as Australia, it’s earned New York Drama Desk, British Laurence Olivier and Australian Helpmann and numerous other awards nominations and wins in the decades since.

The RTC production features a cast of 25 plus a 13-piece live band. “There is a healthy mix of new people in (the) cast and some returning veterans,” Holder-Hetmeyer said. “Working with every single one of these artists has been the honor of my life. Everyone brings something so unique and special to their individual tracks and is working their butts off.

“My favorite part has been diving into everyone’s characters and having them be a part of that process. We focused on fine tuning their characters to fit in the realm of the story. It was a beautiful collaboration that I think not only enhanced the experience for them, but allowed them to play around and explore their ideas of these people and how they navigate in this world we’ve created.”

Even in the heat of early summer in a borrowed space while another RTC production was having its run, then back in the theater with the set being nearly constructed around them, the cast worked diligently getting dance routines, music and moments just right. Besides “Hey, Big Spender,” one of its most familiar numbers, Holder-Hetmeyer noted, “there are so many iconic numbers and songs like “The Rich Man’s Frug”, “If My Friends Could See Me Now”, “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This”, “Rhythm of Life”, “Sweet Charity”, “I’m a Brass Band,” just naming a few. For his favorite dance number, “The Rich Man’s Frug,” he and his “insanely talented” co-choreographer Lorna Fontana spent hours reviewing videos, taking down notes and working out movements and traffic patterns to create something new and fresh but also familiar.

One of the great challenges in choreographing this show, he said, was “because it’s Fosse, there were some numbers I knew had to stay true to his original choreography and some numbers where I took liberties while paying homage. It was a daunting line to toe…”

Holder-Hetmeyer’s own love of the “Sweet Charity” came with his first encounter as a high school freshman. Auditioning with friends, he was devastated when he didn’t get in. “I bawled my eyes out,” he said. But instead of leaving, he asked the director if he could assist or at least watch the rehearsals. “Because I really wanted to stay and be a part of it.” He instantly fell in love with every single number and saw every single performance.

“Cut to 2025. I was trying to pick a show that had an impact on me that combined the elements of theatre that I love which are big entertaining dance numbers, funny characters and well written songs,” he said. Thinking back to his youth, he says it all came rushing back. The “Bob Fosse extravaganza” that is “Sweet Charity.” “It was the best decision I could’ve made for my directorial debut,” Holder-Hetmeyer said.

Until now, many might be familiar with Holder-Hetmeyer as a performer. After a hiatus after graduating Edward R. Murrow High School, he credits longtime and founding RTC member Susan Jasper for “discovering” him and getting him back into theatre. Besides being a show choreographer, co-director (part of requirements for anyone wishing to become an RTC director), as an actor/dancer/singer, he noted some favorite roles have included playing Lola/Simon in “Kinky Boots” with the Gallery Players, Bobby Strong in “Urinetown: The Musical” at RTC,  Billy Lawlor in Narrows Community Theatre’s “42nd Street” and Mitchell M. Mahoney in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at RTC.

With “Sweet Charity” though, he said he had never “been in the position where I had to be the one that was in charge and focus on all aspects of the show to create the finished product for audiences. It was a very daunting task.”

Beyond the actors, Holder-Hetmeyer credits the collaboration with his creative team with making the finished musical a gem. These include Assistant Director/Intimacy Coordinator Annalys Ramirez, Music Director Jake Wassermann, Co-Choreographer Lorna Fontana (Loranth Fontaine), Co-Stage Managers Nora Meyers and Jannicke Steadman, Costume Designer Georgina Marshall, Social Media Manager Raekwon LaTray and Social Media Director Gabrielle Mangano.

“Every single one of these individuals has brought their A-game in helping me make this show one for the books at the RTC,” Holder-Hetmeyer said.

Now after seeing all the elements- lights, costumes, sets, choreography, hard work and staging come together to create an amazing, fun and entreating show, he and all the cast and crew invite all to be sincerely dazzled by “Sweet Charity.”

Photos by Dan Guarino.