Sister Act

This was my first time visiting Devizes Musical Theatre and the Memorial Hall at Dauntsey’s School, and was excited to attend and cover for Dee Way, your usual NODA Representative. 

Sister Act is a popular musical, which has been adapted from the film starring Whoopi Goldberg.  It has uplifting gospel music and a comical mix of gangsters and nuns.  Direction was by Emily Holmes, with Choreography by Jacqui Davison. 

The staging was simple, and on the whole worked really well.  Using the cast to help with the scene changes, especially by the nuns bringing their pews and benches on and off, meant that it took some of the pressure of the stage crew. There were a couple of instances when the mid-cloth was delayed coming in and set already positioned had to be moved, but overall the staging was good. 

The lighting was well-managed, and fairly evenly distributed across the stage.  A few times, the lighting was focused in the centre of the stage but the characters were in danger of being partially shadowed if they came close to the edge of the area being lit.  

The music was very good under the direction of the Musical Director, Naomi Ibbotson, and complimented the singing well. Occasionally there were some issues with balance of sound when more person was singing against another, but it was a real bonus to the cast that the music was live, as they could be given time to breath and be expressive. 

The choreography worked well and was well rehearsed – a few nuns played hesitant which worked well in the earlier numbers and overall they moved and acted well together. 

The quality of direction was good, and the cast portrayed their individual characters well developing their personas through the entire show.  The leading characters are commented on below, but everyone in the cast, orchestra and backstage were important in staging the production. 

 

Main Characters 

Deloris Van Cartier gave a gutsy performance.  She began perhaps a little nervous, but as the show progressed she settled into character and let her voice be appreciated. 

Mother Superior had the character perfectly and a beautiful singing voice (which sadly got lost a times with mic issues).  She made believe that she didn’t like Deloris at the beginning but truly warmed to here by the end developing a strong friendship. 

Sister Mary Roberts performed very well, showing the development of the character from being extremely shy to willing to stand up and fight for what she feels is right.  A lovely singing voice, which was highlighted with ‘The Life I Never Led’. 

Eddie gave a sensitive but mature performance and again had an excellent singing voice.  We were all rooting for him to get together with Deloris, especially with ‘I could be that guy’ 

Although this show is very much for the female cast, the gentleman of the group held their own in their various roles.  TJ, Pablo and Joey had great fun in their numbers and worked well as a trio.  Curtis had a great singing voice and complimented this entertaining group of gangsters. 

Special mention must also go to those leading the rest of the nuns and blossoming into the confident nuns they become.  I was a little unsure why they removed their headwear for the bows as this detracted from which characters they were! 

Altogether this was an enjoyable show which sent the audience home with a spring in their step.  Congratulations to all involved and for the hospitality received.  Wishing you every success for future productions . 

Jeni Colton 

N.B Please note that that these comments solely reflect the view of the Representative and can only relate to the performance seen.

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