A classic Broadway musical with a lot of heart is a perfect Valentine’s Day weekend treat on stage Feb. 13-16 at Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale.

Neil Simon’s “Sweet Charity,” directed by Rachael Szabo and Tyler Handford of Connellsville, features Vanessa Clarke-Deaver of Greensburg as hopeless romantic Charity Hope Valentine and Kelly Tunney of Brownsville as Oscar Lindquist, a guy whom she befriends and eventually falls in love with.

“We all know somebody like Charity Hope Valentine,” says Szabo. “Her attitude and zest for life are infectious, especially with the lot she’s been dealt. She has a bad history of putting her faith in the wrong man, because she just wants what we all want – to be loved by someone.”

Clarke-Deaver says her character wears her heart on her sleeve (literally) and she is unapologetically herself.

Searching for love

“Despite having problems with men in the past, she continues searching for the one thing she wants more than anything – love,” she says, adding that it’s been a fun challenge to showcase both Charity’s vulnerability and her strength in her portrayal.

Tunney describes his character, Oscar, as a neurotic, kind-of-old-fashioned tax accountant who meets Charity in a way that forces him to interact with her as a person first, without knowing about her career as a dance hall hostess — which he discovers later.

“The challenge for me as Oscar is to sympathetically portray the struggle of how you learn something about someone you thought you’d known, and try to keep that from fundamentally changing how you feel about that person,” he says.

“It’s a show about optimism and persistence and keeping true to yourself because somehow, someday, things will work out for you and you have to stick around to be there when they finally do.”

Stage credits

Tunney’s recent stage credits include “The Rocky Horror Show” and “A Chorus Line” at the Geyer. He also has been involved in productions for California University’s theatre department, Stage Right and several local high school musical programs.

Clarke-Deaver recently was seen in “A Chorus Line,” “Guys and Dolls” and “The Rocky Horror Show” at the Geyer.

Szabo says “Sweet Charity” is a gem of a show that isn’t often performed locally.

“It’s full of funny moments, familiar music and iconic dance numbers,” she says. “Bob Fosse was the original choreographer and we are big fans of his work. We also recognize that with the success of the FX series “Fosse/Verdon,” people are remembering and wanting to see the shows he had a hand in.”

“Sweet Charity” was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Fosse starring his wife Gwen Verdon. He won the 1966 Tony Award for Best Choreography. The musical score features “Big Spender” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now.”

Szabo and Handford also have co-directed productions of “Urinetown” (2016), “Hair” (2017), “Cabaret” and “West Side Story” (2018) and “A Chorus Line” (2019).

They recently won the Favorite Director Award for “A Chorus Line” at the 13th annual Tottie Awards presentation Jan. 18 at the Geyer. The awards ceremony honors community theater achievements. Szabo also won an award for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in “Annie” and Handford won for his set design in “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)