Sister Act

Sister Act is a musical based on the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg Film of the same name.  It’s a story of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe nightclub singer who witnesses her boyfriend Curtis commit a murder.  For her protection the police decide to hide her in a convent.

Deloris quickly proceeds to disrupt the quiet and safe lives of the resident sisters.  In a desperate effort to keep her out of trouble the Mother Superior assigns her to the convent choir, an ensemble that she soon turns into a vibrant and soulful act that gains widespread fame.

Deloris Rachel Allen gave a strong performance that carried the show.  This role could make or break the show, but Rachel was consistent throughout with her strong singing voice and stage presence.

Mother Superior Barbara Thomas was a joy to listen to with her fabulous singing voice.  I enjoyed her portrayal of the character and believed she was in charge of the convent.  I particularly enjoyed her understanding rendition of “I Haven’t Got A Prayer” Wonderful.

Eddie Leigh Smith gave an outstanding performance I loved his song “I Could Be That Guy” He was very believable as the guy who was always known as sweaty Eddie with great comic timing where needed and a great singing voice I could have listen to all night.

Curtis Mike Barker was your typical gangster boyfriend along with his three sidekicks Joey Bob Sulzbach TJ Joe Emler and Pablo Matt Kaplan I liked their song “Lady in The Long Black Dress” with them playing to the audience and clever choreography.

Sister Mary Robert Melanie Plowman-Cobb Sister Mary Lazarus Judith Coen  Sister Mary Patrick Sarah Cunningham and Sister Mary Theresa  all gave good performances staying in character throughout .  I was drawn constantly on each of the entrances of Sister Mary Martin Of Tours Belinda Gee who stayed in her character with some very funny moments which she never overplayed just right well done.

Monsignor O’Hara  Mike Roberts along with Irish American accent gave a solid performance .  Tina Claire Bales and Michelle Nicole Georges both gave a good performance as they opened the show with Deloris in a disco version of Take Me To Heaven with neat moves and nice harmonies.

There were some lovely cameo roles and congratulations to all the nuns who each had their own little characters and sang well.  I enjoyed the song Its Good To Be A Nun with everyone giving their all.  My only problem was that some of the solo singing lines were lost.  I understand not everyone can be miked but maybe positioning unmiked cast in places near miked cast may help in future, but I loved it.

The band under the careful baton of Musical Director Rob Brand was great.  It was lovely to be able to hear the leads without the band drowning them out and there was a great balance here.

Director Alan Bailes had obviously worked hard with this show bringing out some lovely moments on stage, I particularly liked the reaction of the nuns at the end when Eddie kisses Deloris.

Choreography by Holly Anne Bohme was in keeping with the show as was with lighting and sound and costumes.

The set was minimal but seemed to work well for that size theatre.  I thoroughly enjoyed my evening with you all and I must say the finale of raise your voice certainly raised the roof.

Well done to all and I look forward to seeing another one of your productions.

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