Sister Act

Another enjoyable and memorable evening by Kinver Light Operatic Society (KLOS) with a quality show which was a true pleasure to watch. Being part of a packed auditorium added to the highly energetic atmosphere which was full of fun with massive amounts of playfulness and soul.

I had been looking forward to this production of Sister Act ever since the sneak preview back in Sept 2021 at KLOS’ concert. I love the 1992 movie but I had not seen the Musical which pretty much tells the same story as the film but with original music. There were many highlights and many catchy tunes. Beep Beep!

Thank you once again for the hospitality, it was great to see some familiar faces again and to experience the feeling of a company who have a genuine interest and care for each other. The attention to detail and hard work to produce this show was obvious. The stage was used extremely well which just goes to show the level of skill producing a show of this size and making it work at a high school lecture theatre. Also, the stage management and the crew backstage worked hard to keep the show flowing with scene changes which were completed in a timely manner.

Some scene changes were completed whilst the actors were performing on the other half of the stage. Generally, it was well rehearsed and every one had a role to play so this contributed to the changes being completed with the least distraction to the main action.

Sister Act tells the story of sassy night club singer, Deloris Van Cartier, who is a dating a criminal night club owner called Curtis Jackson who murders Ernie, an undercover police informant. Deloris walks in at the exact wrong moment and witnesses it all, so with the help of a Police Man called “Sweaty” Eddie, she goes undercover hiding at a church with a group of Nuns. Agreed by Monsignor O’Hara but Mother Superior made her feelings clear that she was not so keen.

Deloris naturally finds it hard to fit in. However, with her talent as a singer she transforms a group of terribly out of tune Nuns into a super group of powerful singers. Deloris becomes part of the family and with the choir bringing in new people ultimately saves the church from failing numbers and closing down. The church is getting lots of attention so it doesn’t take long for Curtis and his minions to discover Deloris’ hide out. There is a dramatic but heart-warming ending which involves a very, very special cameo from the Vatican!

This production of Sister Act was excellently cast. It was directed confidently by Sam Houlston, who not only showed his strong abilities as a director but also as an amazing choreographer. Sam is definitely one to watch as he continues to impress with his creative vision.

Nick Jeavons provided his skills and talent as Musical Director and led an orchestra who remained tight and confident throughout. Some familiar faces and names in the orchestra, including Chris Handley and Dr Edward Caine highlighted once again the successful cross over of members from one company to another in The Black Country lending their skills. Other members who completed the orchestra were as follows, BT Kyle, Christopher Inston, Jake Mason, R J Skilbeck, Nina Skilbeck, and Jake Evans.

The start of the show introduced Mother Superior (Sheila Wood) praying for help for her church which was in crisis. Deloris Van Cartier (Attiye Passey) answered her prayers by storming the stage with a strong entrance alongside her excellent background singers, Michelle (Rebecca Lydon) and Tina (Jennie Wall). The show takes off with the song “Take me to Heaven” which leads into a song called “Fabulous Baby” which gives Attiye the opportunity to show the audience what she is made of with her powerful voice and range. Her emotional performance of the song “Sister Act” towards the end of the show was also quite special. Attiye had so much presence as the flamboyant character of Deloris. Her emotion and spirit throughout was impeccable. There were some wonderfully warm and funny moments which were reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg’s performance in the movie.

Mother Superior (Sheila Wood) was perfect for the role, the perfect choice. Sheila played the role with the right pinch of dryness, sarcasm and warmth and with an amazing voice and presence.  Monsignor O’Hara (Paul Costello) was also well cast and the two worked very well together with a bit of a cheeky side to his character.

“Sweaty” Eddie (Ricky Dowell) singing “I Could Be That Guy” reaffirmed his talent as an amazing singer and reminded me of his skill of grabbing hold of the audience’s attention with ease and keeping them engaged. His moments of embarrassment because of his crush on Deloris was funny but painful to watch, but true love conquered all in the end.

Curtis Jackson (Chas James) and his thugs, including his “nephew” TJ (Harvey Dalloway) “ladies’ man” Joey (Scott Denton) and of course Pablo (Paul Gardner) who could not speak any English were just solid gold. They were the perfect combination. It was good to see Harvey Dalloway on stage with KLOS after seeing his performance in Anything Goes with The Tab Operatic Society and Scott completely owned the song “Lady in the Long Black Dress”.

Sister Mary Martin of Tours (Phillipa Bishop) was hilarious enjoying her own little world and in my opinion had the best interaction with Curtis’s thug Pablo (Paul Gardner), translating his threats from his Spanish was my favourite comedic moment in the show.

Sister Mary Theresa (Sandy Allen) was incredible with her character portrayal and was totally believable as the Nun you didn’t want to mess with. Don’t let the walking stick fool you!

Claire Jackson who played Sister Mary Lazarus was outstandingly funny and cracked me up every time with some of the best moments of the show. Another example of excellent character development and talent.

Nina Best as well as doing Publicity for the show, played the easily excitable, perky, open mouthed smiley character of Sister Mary Patrick. I totally believe that everybody needs a Sister Mary Patrick in their lives! Nina was awesome in this role.

The shy and softly spoken Sister Mary Robert played by Sophie Bishop was incredibly convincing and “The Life I Never Led”  was my favourite song in the show. Her development throughout the show as a character is easily relatable in regards to having the confidence to stand up and be tall, taking the fear and “doing it anyway”

The ensemble of singing, dancing Nuns were also all very strong and the one song which stood out was “Raise Your Voice”. There was a lot of energy and smiles alongside the wonderful dynamics throughout the performance and the cast of Nuns were endearing with their relationships with many stand out performances with a wonderful feel of teamwork.

Other characters played by Adam Chester (Ernie) and Alex Thompson who played a cop were also part of a very strong ensemble. The rest of the ensemble of course including Rebecca Lydon and Jennie Wall were the names Charlotte Wood, Tracey Thompson, Deb Neale, Louise Lippett, Maddy Hickinbottom, Lottie Hannah, Georgie Hand, Jo Gubbins, Any Danks and Vicky Cook. All fully deserve individual mentions.

Thank you again for a wonderful evening. I am looking forward to seeing the multiskilled company of KLOS return with a Panto in December. Jack and the Beanstalk  3rd-10th Dec 2022.

Save the date. Grab tickets. Experience a company who will guarantee a very honest, fun and lively evening.

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