Sister Act

Since becoming a cult classic in the 90s thanks to the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, any group taking on the stage show of Sister Act has to traverse both expectations based on fond memories of the film and the fact that the stage version has a different musical score.

This was Tom Creswick’s directing debut and he, along with the team around him made it look easy. No mean feat when you consider the incredible work and detail which went into this show, from the set to the sound, the lighting, the superb 15-piece band not to mention the talented cast themselves.

The story begins in a sleazy nightclub in downtown Philadelphia where Delores auditions for her equally sleazy married boyfriend to appear in the cabaret. Her performance is great as are her lovely backing singers – (the audience certainly thought so) but the malevolent Curtis, leader of his gang of hoods decides she’s not up to the job.
It all becomes academic when, minutes later, she walks back into the club to witness Curtis shoot one of his gang dead, thereby significantly shortening her own life expectancy.

She flees to Philadelphia PD who are searching for a witness who can stay alive long enough to testify and get this gang put away. Leading the investigation is Sweaty Eddie, an old high school friend. Eddie needs somewhere to hide Delores until the case is brought to court. He hits on a crazy idea and Delores finds herself in a convent posing as
Sister Mary Clarence under the care of a less than enthusiastic Mother Superior. The convent has an extraordinarily discordant choir and in desperation, Mother Superior sets her the task of working with them. A new constellation of stars are born.

This was a show with many memorable and brilliant moments, technically, there were some beautiful touches, for instance, whenever the action was in the church, reverb was used on the mics, giving us a real sense of the building’s acoustics. The set was thoughtfully done, marbled columns in the convent and church, matching floor, seamless changes from office to cell to Philly PD.

The band was excellent, complete with some glorious electric guitar and miked in a separate room offstage. This included vocal mics too, which made for glorious, rich harmonies accompanying the soloists on stage. The choreography was creative and imaginative and very nicely (and, on occasion, hilariously) executed.

Delores was a feisty, charismatic character with lovely vocals which began a little faint but were clearly adjusted and rang out in the second half. The actress had total command of the stage and a high-voltage smile - you couldn’t fail to warm to her.

Curtis was a great performance; there was real depth to his character and he came across as thoroughly menacing, which made his funnier moments all the more entertaining.

His henchmen, Joey, Pablo and TJ were a joy to watch, considering they were a unit, each had real character and they brought the house down with their mischievous rendition of Lady in the Long Black Dress. Eddie had a lovely singing voice as did Mother Superior whose utter disdain for Delores and gradual softening into one of her staunchest supporters was so entertaining and very relatable.

But an extra bouquet must go to the fantastic chorus of nuns – for me they were the cherry on top of an already iced and sprinkled cake. Sisters Mary Robert and Patrick were both show-stealers in their own right but matched by Mary Lazarus and the other nuns who were all memorable. One of my (many) favourite moments was the transition from a discordant rabble to a glorious melodious choir in Raise Your Voice – a real example of the quality of singers, choreography and musical direction. It is almost as hard to get the level of discord to sound believable as it is to sound harmonious, but they managed both and it was really believable and satisfying.

This was a beautifully assembled piece, a fantastic example of creativity, ingenuity and team work – congratulations guys!!!

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