Most of us will be acquainted with the musical number Big Spender from the glitzy and glamorous Bette Midler or Shirley Bassey versions of the song, however, less of us may be familiar with the musical it originates from, Sweet Charity. As a musical which follows the ups and downs of the love life of Charity Hope Valentine, a dancer to rent in New York City, director Tania Clarke explains that the legendary song is often stripped of its original meaning and it’s not as glamorous as it’s made out to be. “What’s important for Sweet Charity is to place it in its original context; the Fandango Ballroom in 1960s New York where the dancers to rent are trying to sell themselves. There’s an obvious air of desperation and we’ve been playing around with the darker meaning behind it.”  

Described by Clarke as the Lady Gaga of musicals, Sweet Charity is a bold and highly stylised with an element of wonderland, where the audience begin to question what is actually real and what isn’t. “It’s not simply a light hearted glitz and glamour fest like some musicals, there’s real human emotion behind the script, it’s very poignant” 

It’s clear that Clarke aims to bring a refreshing contrast to the superficial and two dimensional characters which adorn some of the best loved musicals, by bringing to life the complex and interesting nature of Sweet Charity’s characters. The thought the cast put into understanding their characters was obvious when cast member Sarah Mercer, playing Charity’s best friend Helene, uniquely described her characters dual personality as being “like a pineapple, she’s spiky and rough on the outside but inside she’s actually sweet”. Of the rehearsal process Rosalind Peters, playing the eponymous “hopeful but unlucky” Charity, commented “We’ve really tried to get our heads around them, Tanya’s had us all create character profiles in rehearsal, we’ve really thought long and hard about the backstories of our characters and how they’ve come to be where they are now ”. Ensemble member Megan Henson added “even the ensemble and dancers had to do it! It’s been useful in helping to turn small parts into really prominent figures”.

With a total cast of around 45 including 30 dancers , as well as a 16 strong band and the largest list of designers, producers, technicians and assistants I’ve ever seen for a Cambridge production, Tania Clarke has certainly had her work cut out. “It’s been a challenge” she admits “to manage so many people and get it stage ready in just over 6 weeks”. Indeed the rehearsal process sounds militant at times, but the cast seem to have really enjoyed it and it’s evident that there’s a great dynamic between them as they discuss how they’ve helped each other progress and how the two leading men, George Longworth (Vittorio Vidal) and Tom Beaven (Oscar), have kept them in good humour. New to the Cambridge Theatre scene, fresher Daniel Rasbash describes the rehearsals as being “tiring but so much fun to work with such an amazing group of people, Cambridge theatre is definitely a great way to get to meet a lot of people from other colleges and years, that you wouldn’t usually get the chance to meet.” 

There’s also a buzz amongst the cast about the Richman’s Frug dance – while, admittedly, it is a seemingly random musical number in the show, it’s definitely a spectacle to behold. Traditionally a wildly energetic number, dance captain Emily Davy has been set the huge challenge of choreographing a routine for 39 people which keeps up the distinctive and award winning choreographic style of original director Bob Fosse. 

When asked what is so special about this musical production, Megan Henson commented “It’s the biggest show I’ve ever done, I think it might be the biggest scale, student show ever seen in Cambridge”. “There are so many great songs and Stephen (Gage, musical director) and the band are great, it sounds amazing”, Gabbie Bird (ensemble) added.  Indeed, with some fantastically choreographed musical numbers from a live band, a strong cast and Tanya Clarke’s overall vision, there’s a lot of promise for this musical to be one of the best ever seen in Cambridge – it’s no wonder that tickets have been selling fast.