26th April 2025
Murder on the Airwaves
Three Towns Theatre Company, Upchurch Village Hall
Sister Act
Author: Keith Smithers
Information
- Date
- 10th November 2021
- Society
- Horsham Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society HAODS
- Venue
- The Capitol, Horsham
- Type of Production
- Musical
- Director
- Stacey James
- Musical Director
- Neil Franks
- Choreographer
- Rachel Dale
The film “Sister Act” has now been around for about 28 years and its songs have become iconic. I am sure that Alan Menken had a huge task to equal the musical genre and style of the original score together with Glenn Slater’s adapted dialogue. With the combined talents of Stacey James, Neil Franks and Rachel Dale to bring this to the Horsham stage, a feast of enjoyment was there to be had by all.
The part of Doloris Van Cartier, the girl trying to hide from her murderous boyfriend, was played by Claude Hopkins. I would estimate that she was on stage for seventy-five per cent of the evening - her voice and performance were strong and clear throughout all her eight songs. Curtis (Dominis Batchelor), by now the ex-boyfriend, and his useless gang of three thugs (Cameron Rowell, Billy Humphreys & Chris Dale) provided a lot of laughs in their two comedic songs. Eddie (Michael Boucher) played a convincing part as the cop.
And so on to the ladies in the cast. Doloris’ singing companions, Michelle and Tina (Abbie Bleasby-Voice and Alicia Marson) ably complemented the singing before becoming nuns for the rest of the show. There were some marvellous cameo parts for some of the nuns and these were played to great effect. Well done, Sisters Mary. Mother Superior (Lisa Faulkner) was able to use her excellent voice in the second act with her reflective amusing song “I Haven’t Got A Prayer”. One of my favourite songs from this show was “The Life I Never Led” sung beautifully by Sister Mary Robert (Charlotte Mitchell).
The costumes were absolutely wonderful - so many and so colourful. The choreography was complicated and varied in the full chorus numbers - so effective and visually amazing.
The band of eleven musicians performed superbly and sounded like an orchestra of about twenty plus. The impressive scenery was achieved mainly by a very clever lighting crew who also managed the chase scene to good visual effect.
Congratulations to all, on and off stage, for a tremendous performance.
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