Sister Act

The Players made this story of a nightclub singer who witnessed a killing and had to take refuge in a convent an uplifting experience.  The strong contrasting characters of Gill Sullivan, whose brash vulgarity as Deloris Van Cartier with the big voice resounded, and of Annie Townsend with the steely resolve of the Mother Superior, led the way.  The singing of numbers like the raucous ‘Take me to Heaven’ contrasted well with heartfelt solo ‘I Haven’t Got a Prayer’.  The sister nuns were a hoot, from the zany Irish enthusiasm of Sister Mary Patrick played by Judith Hutchinson and the bespectacled straitlaced  Sister Mary Lazarus played by Pam Murray with her conversion to the big sound, to the active rump of the organ playing sister. The novice Mary Roberts was sweetly played by Jemma Lapsley, the obedient novice turning into the stubborn rebel in her support of Deloris.   All the Sisters were well choreographed and turned their disharmonies into a riot of sound and joy.  The ladies rule in this show and the male leads have to fight hard to make their mark.  Peter Tomassi as Curtis came across strongly as a ruthless gangster. His sidekick nephew TJ  played by Caz Paul delivered his one liners with nice timing and his partners in crime, Stuart Laws as Joey and Shane Whittle as Pablo,  and Tom Gelling as Ernie were ably carried off.  Alan Potter sang well as police officer Eddie and one felt sorry for him and his unrequited love for Deloris. Gravitas vied with practicality in the smooth performance of Alex Kemp as the Monsignor. The set of the church and its lighting was effective and complementary to the action. There were lots of scene changes so congratulations to the backstage crew for moving quickly in the blackouts. The night was about gusty entertainment and with the nuns sparking on all cylinders in each song and sparkling costumes in the finale, this was delivered in full.  Congratulations to all.

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