Sister Act

Sister Act, hey!

There I was expecting a warmed over juke box musical with worn out songs from a decade the music from which I have tried to erase from my memory. Seen the films and enjoyed them but never seen the musical and knew little about it save for the basic story. What a rip roaring revelation I was in for!

If the story was familiar the music wasn’t.  Great score; songs carrying the story, telling us about characters, their hopes, fears, aspirations and disappointments etc.

So I enjoyed it. Not least for the surprise it held in store for me.

But you don’t really need to know that I enjoyed it. You want to know what I thought of it as a production. Well the positive tone continues. This was a top notch production. Every aspect nailed. Music was of a high standard, both solo and ensemble numbers. I am untutored in such musicial matters and all I am qualified to say on the point is that it was hugely enjoyable. The acting was believable, convincing and often very funny.  Characters acting through song was a major plus and a clear indication of the hard hours the cast and “the creatives” put in during rehearsal.

Lighting, costume, set, props and scenery all did their part it making this an excellent production. Polished and honed the show moved with great speed yet seamlessly with not a hiccup in sight. Rarely have I seen a cast work so hard. To describe it as energetic hardly does it justice. What a delight to see everyone enjoying themselves as well.

There were some knock out performances from principal players but of a truth I didn’t spot a weak link in this cast. I don’t like to single anyone out but Sarah Kate Jones and James Dawe  were outstanding. But then so was Rosemary Cresty, Rob Lawton, David Bryan, Lauren Greaves, Uncle Tom etc. When you start mentioning names you can’t stop when the show was as good as this.

So well done to everyone.

Congratulations to Liz Talbot and Caroline Yates West for fashioning, driving and producing an excellent show.

Jeff Hill, on behalf of Rachel Millar

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