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''Sweet Charity'' is a 1966 musical with book by Creator/NeilSimon based on the Creator/FedericoFellini film ''Film/NightsOfCabiria'', score by Creator/CyColeman and Creator/DorothyFields, originally directed by Creator/BobFosse and starring Gwen Verdon. It tells the story of Charity Hope Valentine, a romantic dance hall hostess looking for love in all the wrong places, and how she eventually finds it--and loses it. The play is considered a classic example of Fosse's direction and style of dance, and some of the numbers (e.g. "Big Spender" and "Rich Man's Frug") are some of the best examples of Fosse style dance.

A [[TheFilmOfThePlay film adaptation]], directed by Fosse and starring Creator/ShirleyMacLaine, was released in 1969.

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!!''Sweet Charity'' provides examples of:

* AllMusicalsAreAdaptations: It's based on Creator/FedericoFellini's ''Film/NightsOfCabiria''.
%% * BadGirlSong: "Hey Big Spender".
* BittersweetEnding: The play and film lack the DownerEnding from the source Fellini film, in which the protagonist's lover steals all her savings and leaves her penniless. Instead, Oscar chucks Charity in the lake but does ''not'' steal her stuff. Instead we get a wistful, hopeful FairyTale ending.
* BlatantLies: Judging by the expressions of the singers, every line of "Big Spender".
-->The minute you walked in the joint\\
I could see you were a man of distinction\\
A real big spender\\
Good lookin' so refined
%% * BSODSong: "Where Am I Going"; even more so in the movie, when it is featured after Oscar walks out on Charity.
* DarkReprise: "Baby, Dream Your Dream" starts out with Nikki and Helene mocking Charity's optimism, but then they reveal that they would love to have someone to love them.
* DidNotGetTheGuy: Charity. And she came so close! The circumstances change depending on which ending the production you see is using (there are three) but the fact is, Oscar and Charity do not wind up together. However, the RevisedEnding had Charity and Oscar giving it a chance.
* DullSurprise:
** Justified in "Big Spender", as the dance hall girls act as mechanically as possible, while flatly spouting tired sexual euphemisms -- the only hint of passion is when the Big Spender enters, and when they extinguish their cigarettes.
--->'''Dance hall girl:''' Ooo, you're so tall!
** Also Justified in the "The Aloof" portion of the "Rich Man's Frug".
%% * TheElevenOClockNumber: "I Love To Cry At Weddings".
* FireForgedFriends: Charity and Oscar spend hours trapped in an elevator together while Oscar has a nervous breakdown and Charity has to attempt to calm him. They leave the elevator already a little bit in love!
* FirstKiss: Played with. At the end of Charity and Oscar's first date, they stand together awkwardly and a sign (in the original production) lights up saying 'The First Kiss!' It doesn't happen.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Charity, Nicki, Helene and all the girls in the dance hall. Very few of them seem to be actually prostitutes (Charity specifically says all she sells is her time); they all still are caring people, especially prevalent in the "I love to cry at weddings" scene.
* IKissYourHand: Oscar is too shy to kiss Charity goodbye, so he kisses her hand. Charity thinks it's adorable. Her friends think it's a bit odd.
* IrrelevantActOpener: "Rhythm of Life". What exactly does this scene have to do with the plot? Nothing. Is it awesome? HELL YES.
* IWantSong: "Big Spender", of course. "There's Got To Be Something Better Than This" is a straightforward I Want Song, "Baby Dream Your Dream" is a bittersweet example, and "If My Friends Could See Me Now" can be considered an I Want as well.
%% * LatinLover: Vittorio Vidal.
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Charity's main problem. She wants love and happiness, but she's a poor judge of character and the men she latches onto don't really care about her.
-->'''Helene''': You run your heart like a hotel. You got guys checking in and out all the time.
* MeaningfulName: "Sweet Charity" is a slang term for a prostitute who gives it away for love instead of money.
* MeetCute: Charity and Oscar meet in an elevator that gets stuck between floors.
* MusicForCourage: Charity and Oscar sing "I'm The Bravest Individual" when they're trapped in an elevator together. It doesn't do much for them.
%% * NoAntagonist: Charity's kind of her own worst enemy...
* OriginalCastPrecedent: Bob Fosse decided Gwen Verdon would wear a LittleBlackDress for the whole show, just because he liked the way she looked in it. Said dress has subsequently become the [[IconicOutfit standard Charity costume]]. She'll occasionally wear red for her scenes in the dance hall, but other than that, you'd be hard pressed to find a Charity who doesn't wear the black dress for at least a few scenes.
* PairTheSpares: Doesn't actually happen, but Nicki lampshades it.
-->'''Nicki''' I could marry Herman--\\
'''Helene''': And be permanently sorry!\\
'''Nicki and Herman''': We would make a really lousy pair.
* ThePollyanna: Charity herself. She loses everything in one day when her husband leaves her, and yet skips off alone, saying, "There's always tomorrow."
* {{Parody}}: "Rich Man's Frug" is a TakeThat to a popular dance craze of TheSixties, which also explains the FunWithSubtitles.
* PopCultureOsmosis: Both "Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now" quickly found themselves used in commercials, parodies, and so on.
* QuirkyGirlQuirkyTux: Downplays the trope by having Charity perform "If They Could See Me Now" with a top hat and cane, but a mini-dress. Creator/BobFosse seems fond of this trope, putting quirky lead females in the tux with tights outfit for a dance number.
* RewrittenPopVersion: Music/BarbraStreisand's rendition of "Where Am I Going?" changed the line "Run to the Bronx, or Washington Square" to "Run where it's foul, run where it's fair."
* ScamReligion: The Rhythm of Life Church is a scam. It was supposedly founded at the urging of a mysterious Voice:
-->And the voice said, "Brother, there's a million pigeons\\
Ready to be hooked on new religions."
%% * SidekickSong: "Baby, Dream Your Dream" by Nicki and Helene.
%% * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: And thinks every guy is 'the one!'
* SpiritualSuccessor: "Rich Man's Frug" is this to "Rich Kids' Rag," a similar number Bob Fosse and Cy Coleman had done in their musical ''Little Me'' four years earlier.
* SurvivalMantra: Charity invokes this with "I'm the Bravest Individual" by encouraging Oscar to repeat to himself that he is brave, in order to calm him down. Some productions also have Charity [[MeaningfulEcho reprise said song at the end]] [[spoiler:to boost her confidence after she and Oscar break up.]]
* TitleDrop: It's Oscar's nickname for Charity.
-->'''Oscar''': You're a great girl, Charity. Sweet Charity.
* ToBeContinued: A "TO BE CONTINUED" sign appears at the moment of PseudoCrisis that ends the first act.
* WorkingClassAnthem: In "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This", the taxi dancers dream of getting out of the business. Subverted in that the lives they dream about end up being menial jobs.
* WrongGuyFirst: Charity goes on a date with movie star Vittorio Vidal, and it's set up as if he is going to be the love interest of the musical. Sure, we've seen worse. But Charity winds up convincing Vittorio to go back to his girlfriend Ursula, and spends the night in a closet while Vittorio and Ursula make love. She leaves with nothing but his autograph and a hat and cane.
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!!Tropes unique to the 1969 film:

* RevisedEnding: Bob Fosse shot [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Charity_(film)#Alternate_ending a completely different denouement]] for the film adaptation just in case Universal execs objected to it ending on a down note. In it, Charity and Oscar reunite. The U.S. release version of the film uses the original ending, but perhaps because it flopped at the box office, Universal recut it for its international release and used this revised ending instead. (It is a bonus feature on the DVD release.)