Molly Ringwald will indeed headline the national tour of Sweet Charity, but she will be working under a different director than previously announced. Instead of being helmed by Walter Bobbie, director of the recent Broadway revival of the tuner, the tour will now be directed by Scott Faris. Everywhere Faris receives billing a special credit reading "2005 Broadway Revival Directed by Walter Bobbie" will be printed, according to a production spokesperson.
Faris' directing credits include the recent national tour of South Pacific, international companies of Chicago in Australia, Austria, Sweden, South Africa and more and EFX in Las Vegas. He also served as a production supervisor on the Broadway production of Grease.
With a book by Neil Simon based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Plaiano and a score by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, Sweet Charity looks at the misadventures of Charity Hope Valentine, a dance hall hostess who always gives her heart and earnings to the wrong man. The recent Broadway revival of the tuner, starring Christine Applegate in the title role, featured direction by Bobbie and choreography by Wayne Cilento. It began previews at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 11, 2005 and ran through December 31, 2005.
Bobbie left Sweet Charity because of scheduling issues, likely with the upcoming musical High Fidelity, which he is helming. Cilento is still on board to choreograph the tour, launching in California in September.
