(KELOWNA, BC) -- Kelowna Actors Studio is pleased to present the popular Tony Award winning musical comedy, Sweet Charity, which opens Thursday, March 24, and runs until April 17, 2011. 

Sweet Charity is a tender, poignant and consistently funny look at the adventures -- or rather the misadventures -- of love encountered by the gullible and guileless Charity Hope Valentine. The clever dialogue is the creation of the consummately funny Neil Simon. Cy Coleman captures the rhythms and sounds of New York with his music and Dorothy Fields perfectly mimics the vernacular of New Yorkers with her lyrics.  
Charity, a young New Yorker working as a dance hall hostess, has few prospects in life.  Even though she always gives her heart and her dreams to the wrong man, she always believes that there is something better in store. Charity sings, dances, laughs and cries her way through romances with the “animal magnetism” hero, the “ultra-chic continental” hero, and the “impossible-to believe-but-he’s-better-than-nothing” hero. 
Charity’s world is the all too real world of Times Square populated by some of the most charming and eclectic group of characters to have ever graced a stage. From her cynical trio of dance hall girlfriends to the claustrophobic, neurotic tax accountant boyfriend Oscar, the phony evangelist Daddy Brubeck, the Coney Island “fun people,” the Central Park strollers, and the YMCA “self-improvers,” every character is fascinating.
 
“Sweet Charity is set in New York City in the early 1960’s when the ‘hip’ new Beat Generation was emerging from the post-war, Donna Reed era,” explains director Nathan Flavel, “Young people were trying to make sense of life through beat poetry, smoky jazz and bongo drums. Charity is a free spirit. She is hopeful for the future, and embraces life. She could easily be a ‘beat woman’ and yet she yearns for a traditional home and family with a man who will love her.”
 
The original Broadway production was nominated in 1966 for 12 Tony awards and Bob Fosse took home the trophy for best choreography. The 1986 revival garnered four more Tony awards for Best Revival, Featured Actor, Featured Actress, and Costumes as well as the Outer Circle Award for Choreography. Christina Applegate (Married with Children) starred in another revival of the show, opening on Broadway on May 4, 2005, The show was nominated for three Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical for Applegate. A national tour of the 2005 Broadway revival began in September 2006 and ended in August 2007, starring Molly Ringwald as Charity.
  
”This musical is a comedy in every sense of the word,” Flavel continues. “Neil Simon has a particular talent for looking at the truly amusing side of life. Don’t miss the classic song and dance numbers such as ‘Big Spender,’ ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now,’ ‘There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This,’ ‘I Love To Cry At Weddings,’ ‘ Rhythm of Life,’ and many more.” 
Bob Fosse, the original choreographer for Sweet Charity, developed a jazz dance style that is immediately recognizable, exuding a stylized, cynical sexuality. Other notable distinctions of his style included the use of turned-in knees, sideways shuffling, and rolled shoulders.  The famous Rich Man’s Frug is one such dance in Sweet Charity.
Kelowna Actors Studio’s presentation of Sweet Charity features Tracy Ross (White Christmas, Kiss of the Spiderwoman) as Charity Hope Valentine, Randy Leslie (White Christmas, On Broadway) as Oscar, Kelly Whelan (Sweeney Todd, Anything Goes), Sarah McCall (White Christmas, Harvey ), Rick Worrall (Sweeney Todd, Lend Me A Tenor),  Ron Green (Harvey, The Producers) Quinn Bates (White Christmas, Joseph) with Shannon Hunt as Ursula, Jennifer Davies, Jessica Malkinson, Twyla Spittle, Allyson Fournier, Gillian Reed, Alex Lesosky, Joy Lambright, Mac Mackay, Ryan Taylor, Thomas Fournier, Alex Wells-Green, Sam Doupe Smith, Karen Shale, Nesta Matthews, Chelsea Spittle, Stacy Albrecht and Sonya Proehl rounding out this talented cast.
 
Sweet Charity’s production team includes director/executive producer Nathan Flavel, producer Randy Leslie, music director Norene Morrow, choreographer Jennifer Davies, set design by Nate Flavel & Rick Worrall, lighting design by Randy Leslie and James Long, set décor by Norene Morrow, costume design by Hazel Rodgers, sound design by Jordan Leboe and hair and make up by Valeh Ashraf. The production's stage manager is Carlee Vollhoffer.  
 
Sweet Charity plays at Kelowna Actors Studio Thursday to Sunday evenings, with a Saturday matinee, March 24 to April 17, 2011.  Tickets are available at the Actors Studio Box office, online at KelownaActorsStudio.com, or by calling 250 862 2867. Dinner and dessert options are available.

Kelowna Actors Studio is the only licensed dinner theatre in the Okanagan Valley and has voted best theatre company in the Central Okanagan for 8 years running.  Dinner options are available for all productions. For more information about the 2011/2012 season, or any of the remaining shows this season, please call 250 862 2867 or visit www.KelownaActorsStudio.com