Sweet Charity

Conceived by Bob Fosse and with a corny book by Neil Simon, this musical doesn’t seem to have a thesis, pinging its plucky heroine from one episode to another with little sense of direction. Yet despite the show’s on-paper weirdness, in the right hands it can overflow with charm—as it does in Michael Halberstam’s magnetically intimate revival. Musical director Doug Peck updates the arrangements, making Cy Coleman’s score sound more jazzy than Broadway brassy. And as the open-hearted and out-of-luck broad at the play’s center, Tiffany Topol exerts a captivating charisma as well as accomplished dance skill and impressive acting.