Sister Act

I was warmly welcomed on arrival by Paul Goddard, Production Manager. The seats reserved for us in this large hall with a good stage area afforded an uninterrupted view of the stage.

The action of the musical takes place in America as Act One opened with a lively and energetic scene in the casino, featuring Deloris (Corinna Wilson ),Tina (Hatty Gribben) and Michelle (Katie Galley) singing Take Me To Heaven. This set the tone of the production which moved along at a cracking pace throughout. Corinna played the major role in this musical and was hugely impressive, carrying out this role with great enthusiasm and obvious skill, both in acting, singing and general stage movement. After Deloris witnessed a murder, she is placed in protective custody, in a convent, disguised as a nun and to be known as Sister Mary Clarence. Following a tuneless performance by the choir, Deloris takes over as Director of the choir and, against the wishes of Mother Superior (Diana Easton) coaches them in gospel and rock style singing. Diana was delightful as Mother Superior, with very telling facial expressions and a strong singing voice eg Here Within These Walls.

Francis Garland played the rather hapless Eddie, the local police Lieutenant and did really well in this, his on stage debut ! Curtis, the villain of the piece, was played by David Slater who injected a 'gangster' element, ably assisted by his stooges, Joey (Philip Spurgeon), TJ (William Hackett) and Pablo (Ryan Wuyts).

Stewart Adkins played Monsignor O'Hara, an Irish American priest and a key player in the life of the convent and had great stage presence , maintaining his accent throughout.

I must mention the Sisters, Mary Robert (Aimee Hart), Mary Patrick(Emma Loring) and Mary Lazarus (Rhianna Howard) who were lynchpins of the convent and were instrumental in leading the changes in the choir, assisted by Sisters Mary-Martin and Mary Theresa. These characters worked so well together and added a great deal to the production.The principal lineup was completed by Daryl Warnaar who, as Ernie, played a good support role in Act Two.

Act Two opened strongly with an inspiring rendition of Sunday Morning Fever involving Deloris, the Nuns, Monsignor, Mother Superior and Eddie. The chorus of 12 nuns had a good mix of voices which blended together admirably. The 11 members of the ensemble provided excellent backup in the bigger numbers.

The dance group of 9 were well rehearsed and slick in their routines, thanks to the choreography by Director and Choreographer Robyn Gowers,

Musical Director, Emma Nash led an impressive orchestra of 9 members whilst playing keys herself. The quality of the music was superb and provided a good balance of sound for the performers on stage. In particular, the big set numbers were well directed, Well done !

With such a large cast there, of course, was a large production team in support. Stage Manager, Ben Sawyer, and crew, did a sterling job in setting and changing the stage seamlessly. Scenery ( Paul Lazell) was fairly minimal but, with the careful use of pull across curtains was very effective. Sound and lighting were both effective and did much to enhance the production. Costumes, courtesy of Dress Circle, Witham were carefully chosen and truly reflected the characters. It was good to see that the nun's costumes looked very authentic !

Many congratulations to Director and Choreographer Robyn Gowers for her vision and hard work, ably assisted by Gemma Gray as Assistant Director, who provided invaluable support whilst Robyn had to take time out for medical reasons.

Everyone involved in this excellent production played their role superbly and I congratulate you all.

The audience certainly enjoyed the evening, as I did !

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