To close out their 2025 Concert Series, Prospero Arts and QPAC present Sweet Charity, a hopelessly romantic musical delivered in a semi-staged concert format for a very limited season.
Featuring a tuneful mid-1960s score by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, this production revisits the classic that was originally conceived and choreographed on Broadway by the legendary Bob Fosse.
Inspired by Fellini’s 1957 film Nights of Cabiria, the musical Sweet Charity follows the optimistic but luckless Charity Hope Valentine. A New York City dance-hall hostess searching for love and a better life, Charity clings to hope even when the odds are stacked against her.
First brought to Broadway by Fosse in 1966, the musical earned nine Tony nominations and a win for Best Choreography. In 1969, Fosse adapted the musical in a film debut, with Shirley MacLaine starring alongside Chita Rivera, Sammy Davis Jr and Ben Vereen.
Prospero Arts and QPAC have been presenting concert-style performances of some of the biggest musical theatre hits since 2022. With reduced sets, lighting and costumes, the focus is on the story, score and vocal talent of the cast. Musical Director Mitchell Tyack leads the live, 16-piece orchestra on the Concert Hall stage, while the performers dance in front and above the musicians.
This is the second performance I’ve seen using this format, the first being Dusty earlier this year. And it totally works. Craig Wilkinson’s video projections help inform the story and fill in the gaps where sets usually would. A subway, an elevator, and a Coney Island amusement park ride are all created with clever projection work on a giant overhead screen.
This technique is effectively paired with Josh McIntosh’s set design, which sees a handful of items brought on and off the stage to allow brisk scene changes.
Director and Choreographer Cameron Mitchell brings out the best from his cast. Together, they delivering a high-energy and engaging show from start to finish.
Loren Hunter plays Charity with a playful energy and huge trademark smile. She wins the audience over instantly and we can’t help but love her scrappy, genuine character. Many broken fourth-wall moments draw us in even further; she has us rooting for her all the way.
Her Act One highlight song, If My Friends Could See Me Now, is joyous and energetic. It’s guaranteed to be stuck in your head after the show too. Hunter is also fabulous in her duets and trio numbers. Particularly, There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This, performed with Kristina McNamara and Angelina Thomson who play pals Nickie and Helene.
The show’s pivotal marriage proposal scene, opposite Jake Speer as Oscar Lindqvist, is so endearing it will rip your heart out. Bring tissues. The subsequent number, I’m A Brass Band, is an absolute show stealer. Hunter holds nothing back.
The supporting cast is uniformly strong. As Italian film star Vittoria Vidal, Simon Burke raises the roof with his big number, Too Many Tomorrows. He also brings laughs as Herman, the dodgy Fandango Ballroom owner.
Jake Speer hits all the comedic beats as the straight-laced tax accountant and love interest, Oscar. He balances humour with the right amount of pathos, making him human.
Charity’s dance hall co-workers are a delightful mix of world-weary characters and shine as a colourful collective in the iconic Act One number, Big Spender. Josh McIntosh’s costumes come into their own here, featuring a kaleidoscope of neon hues.
The cast dazzles in the big group numbers, including Rhythm Of Life, led by Sean Sinclair as Daddy, and Charity’s farewell number, I Love To Cry At Weddings.
What keeps this story relevant in 2025, and perhaps made it a little ahead of its time, is the ‘hopefully ever after’ ending*. Without providing spoilers, as this reviewer was completely new to the story, the ending may surprise and divide audiences.
We are still mostly used to having stories wrapped up in a comforting bow. But this musical doesn’t provide that. And one might argue, in 2025, that’s exactly how it should be.
Hopefully ever after endings aside, Sweet Charity is a wildly entertaining production and a fitting finale to Prospero Arts and QPAC’s 2025 Concert Series. It is smartly staged, beautifully performed and proves that simplicity, done well, is its own kind of magic.
Sweet Charity is presented by Prospero Arts and QPAC runs to 14 December at the Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Tickets: https://www.qpac.com.au/whats-on/2025/sweet-charity
Website: https://prosperoarts.com.au/project/sweet-charity/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/atqpac/ and https://www.instagram.com/prosperoarts/
Photo credits: B’rit Mobbs
*The original film does have an alternate happy ending floating around on YouTube. But Fosse stuck to his guns and ran with a Fellini inspired ending for his film. The alternate happy ending is more aligned with the producers’ preferences.
