From Fellini's Tears to Fosse's Jazz Hands: The Surprising Link Between 'Nights of Cabiria' and 'Sweet Charity'

If you know the musical Sweet Charity, you likely picture the iconic, Fosse-sque moves of "Big Spender," the wide-eyed optimism of Shirley MacLaine, or the infectious joy of "If My Friends Could See Me Now." It’s a Broadway and Hollywood classic, a burst of 1960s Technicolor energy. What you probably don't associate it with is black-and-white Italian neorealism, existential dread, and the gritty life of a Roman prostitute. And yet, the vibrant musical owes its entire existence to Federico Fellini’s devastating 1957 masterpiece, Nights of Cabiria.

From the Streets of Rome to Times Square

Nights of Cabiria tells the story of Cabiria, a relentlessly hopeful but perpetually tormented sex worker in Rome, played by Fellini’s wife and muse, Giulietta Masina. The film is a poignant, often heartbreaking character study that follows her through a series of humiliations as she searches for true love in a world that consistently exploits her. It’s a cornerstone of Italian cinema, earning the 1957 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Masina’s performance, a masterclass in physical comedy and silent tragedy, is unforgettable. As critic Roger Ebert noted:

Fellini is not concerned with Cabiria's sociology or morality, but with the fact of her stubborn, indomitable belief in herself.

The Fosse Touch: A Tale of Tonal Transformation

A decade later, director-choreographer Bob Fosse took this bleak narrative and reimagined it for the Broadway stage. With a book by Neil Simon and music by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, Nights of Cabiria became Sweet Charity. The transformation was significant. The setting moved from post-war Rome to the bustling, cynical landscape of 1960s New York City. Most critically, the protagonist’s profession was softened for mainstream American audiences. Cabiria the prostitute became Charity Hope Valentine, a “taxi dancer” at the Fandango Ballroom—a woman who dances with men for money, but whose work is presented as far less grim and explicit.

This change allowed for a massive tonal shift. The quiet despair of Fellini's film was replaced with brassy musical numbers and whip-smart comedy. The gritty realism gave way to stylized theatricality, perfectly encapsulated in Fosse's sharp, angular choreography that defined an era.

Echoes of Cabiria: The Narrative Core

Despite the drastic change in tone and setting, the plot of Sweet Charity is remarkably faithful to its source material. Key sequences are lifted directly from Nights of Cabiria:

• The Movie Star Encounter: Cabiria is picked up by a famous actor, Alberto Lazzari, after a public fight with his girlfriend. Charity has the same experience with the Italian film star Vittorio Vitale. Both women spend a platonic night in the actor's luxurious apartment, hiding in a closet when his girlfriend returns.
• The Hypnotist Scene: On a whim, both Cabiria and Charity go to a magic show where a hypnotist brings them on stage. Under a trance, they both reveal their deepest, most vulnerable desire: to be loved and respected. The scene is played for laughs but ends in public humiliation for the heroines.
• The Heartbreaking Climax: The most direct and devastating parallel is the ending. Both women believe they have finally found true love with a seemingly kind, gentle man (Oscar). This man proposes, convinces them to sell all their belongings and withdraw their life savings to start a new life, and then, during a romantic walk, shoves them into a body of water and runs off with their money.

Two Endings, One Unbreakable Spirit

It is in the final moments that the two versions reveal their differing philosophies. After being robbed and left for dead, Fellini's Cabiria stumbles back to the road, tear-streaked and broken. A group of young musicians passes by, serenading her, and through her tears, she manages a small, fragile smile—a flicker of her unbreakable spirit in the face of utter despair. It’s an ambiguous, hauntingly beautiful ending.

Sweet Charity offers a more explicitly hopeful conclusion. After being pushed into the lake in Central Park, Charity emerges, soaked and defeated. But as she walks away, she looks directly at the audience and offers a knowing, resilient shrug and a smile, underscored by a title card reading: "And she lived hopefully ever after." The optimism is more overt, tailored for a musical comedy, but the core theme of a woman who refuses to be permanently broken by the world remains perfectly intact. It's a fascinating example of how a single, powerful story can be translated across cultures and genres, proving that the human search for love and dignity resonates whether it's told through neorealist tears or Broadway jazz hands.

Sources

• Wikipedia - Nights of Cabiria
• Roger Ebert - Great Movie: Nights of Cabiria (1957)
• Masterworks Broadway - Sweet Charity