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Sister Act

Author: Julie Petrucci

Information

Date
28th November 2015
Society
Cambridge Operatic Society
Venue
Cambridge Arts Theatre
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Chris Cumming
Musical Director
James Harvey
Choreographer
Emma Olley

CAOS’ production of Sister Act was guaranteed to Take Me To Heaven, from the curtain up. There is no overture here so we were straight in to one of the best songs of the show and yet it is only in the reprise, with the nuns ensemble at the end of Act One, that we really appreciate it.

The action moves breathlessly from Deloris’ audition scene to her witnessing a murder, reporting it to the police and being hidden in the local cathedral. En route we meet Sweaty Eddy, the policeman with a crush on Deloris since schooldays and the caricature heavies, Curtis and his gang. We only get a hint of the fun to come from these guys before we meet Mother Superior and the full nuns chorus.

DeeDee Doke was splendid as the Mother Superior, steadfast, reliable, with a dry wit and a good voice that came into its own in Act 2. Len Packman as Monsignor O’Hara, brought a light and mischievous touch to this small role, making quite an impact.  The lead nuns, of which there are several, are wonderfully cast providing variety and fun at the same time. Cat Nicol shone as the enthusiastic vocalist, Sister Mary-Patrick; Caroline Dyson provided grit and gravel as Sister Mary Lazarus, while Rosie Wells as postulant Sister Mary Robert, combined innocence, curiosity and courage with a beautiful voice (especially in The Life I Never Led). 

As an ensemble the nuns were joyous to listen to and an absolute pleasure to watch; the choreography was fun and skilfully executed .

Eddie, Deloris’ latent love interest, was well played by the incomparable Steven Waring. His characterisation was sympathetic without being too down-trodden and his costume trick during

I Could Be That Guy was great. Alan Hay’s Curtis was gruff and nasty with When I Find My Baby blending excellent vocals with surprisingly unpleasant lyrics.  Loved the “Bee Gees” backing guys.

The three stooges, Joey, Pablo and TJ (played by Andrew Ruddick, Benjamin Kidder and Dan Lane respectively) were funny during their brief dialogue scenes but laugh-out-loud hilarious during the song and dance routine Lady in the Long Black Dress. These guys could not only sing and dance but did so in a way that milked every ounce of fun from it. 

Finally, Deloris herself and the tour de force that was Trenetta Jones who brought a huge personality and a huge voice to this demanding role. Yet, in Act 2 when defending her Sisters from gunman Curtis, she was able to dial down and bring pathos and warmth to her character.  This is a key role around which this whole show revolves and Ms Jones did not disappoint and can be summed up as Fab-u-lous Baby

Finally a word on the technicals.  The soaring set (courtesy of UK Productions) was superb and the stage crew under the management of Tim Roper did a fantastic job. With about twenty two scenes, several involving trucks to move around and cloths and sets to fly in and out, this was never going to be easy but it was all done very slickly. I loved all of the cathedral scenes but especially the stained glass windows and also the large scaffolding covered flats that represented the dilapidated building flown out when the restoration was complete.  

Alan Morgan’s lighting design was excellent; furniture and props were great and costumes outstanding, especially in the finale. 

Last but definitely by no means least, the impressive orchestra under MD James Harvey was faultless as was the singing throughout.

From start to finish this was a very professional and highly enjoyable production that deserved its full houses and, I am sure, more than the one standing ovation.

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