Sister Act

I find Sister Act such a fun and joyous musical, so I was thrilled to be invited along to see St Dunstan`s AODS put their slant on it. Unfortunately the evening I went was a freak heatwave, it was seriously hot in the audience so I could only imagine how the cast would be feeling backstage in their costumes – having previously played a nun myself I know just how warm the habits are. We entered the auditorium to a closed stage, John G Barry as Musical Director was central in the orchestra pit where when the show started he kept great pace, he also managed to play a cameo role in the production as The Pope for which he received a resounding round of applause. The sound balance between the dialogue, vocals and music was nice and even throughout the whole show. Hannah Gent as Choreographer could be seen milling about in the audience dressed as a nun and occasionally could be seen at the rear of the auditorium busting some moves in support of  her dancing nuns on stage. The choreography looked clean and slick and was executed to a good standard. The sound by Phil Nicholls  was solid throughout the whole performance with no gremlins, drops or crackles. It was quite a minimal set that was easily moved around which enables the stage itself to be filled with the “nuns”. The lighting plot designed  by Paul Nicholls  and executed by Nathan Hicklin was sympathetic to the scenes unfolding and definitely created some different atmospheres – I particularly enjoyed the chase scene in the convent. Costumes from The Boyz looked very much in keeping with the era and sparkled beautifully under the lights .

Paul Hancox, Phil Callaghan and Nick Butterworth as Joey, Pablo and TJ showed us their comedic side as their bumbling antics had the audience in fits of laughter – they took it to another level when they performed “Lady in the Long Black Dress”. They all used their stage space well and had some nice chemistry, they were a lovely strong backing for Stuart Eade as gangster Curtis. Personally, I would have liked to have seen a bit more cold menace in Stuart`s characterisation instead of hot anger, but that`s just me.

Philip Brady as Monsignor O`Hara and Susan Milligan as Mother Superior were a good pairing on stage, they had some good timing together, delivered some great lines  and both have such strong  expressive faces. Susan is an absolute powerhouse when she sings and her rendition of “I Haven`t Got a Prayer" was flawless in its delivery. Ben Drane as Sweaty Eddie must have been absolutely boiling when he had three costumes on top of each other for “I Could Be That Guy“ yet he didn`t let it affect his performance, he brought power, some good energy and made a solid connection with the audience. Jo Burton as Sister Mary Patrick brought a real twinkle in her eye with her strong characterisation – she made a lovely connection with the audience and used her stage space naturally, she was a great foil for shy little songbird Sister Mary Roberts (Beth Sharp). Beth had a lovely gentle naivete to her characterisation which allowed her vocal breakthrough to be all the more dramatic for the audience. Samantha Wadsworth as Sister Mary Lazarus  was on fine form and very ably wrapped her tongue around her characters rap, she had a strong stage presence and made a solid connection with the audience.

Hannah Manfred (Tina)  and Stasha Ngambi (Michelle) held their own when providing backing for Deloris (Ochi Odey), the trio had some nice chemistry and some great facial expressions during their dialogue. Ochi Odey as Deloris Van Cartier owned her stage every time she set foot on it, she made a strong connection with the audience, she had some great big facial and body expressions. She didn`t even miss a beat when a proud audience member shouted their love and appreciation for her, she stayed completely in character and kept pace. Ochi`s vocals are so big and full and glorious, she really did justice to her musical numbers.

The ensemble worked very hard in this production, they brought some fantastic energy and pace in extenuating circumstances (the heat). Thank you for inviting me, I look forward to seeing you again very soon.

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