Sister Act The Musical

For the uninitiated, Sister Act began its life in 1992 as a hit film with this Musical version debuting in 2009 at the London Palladium.  The film is very much dominated by Whoopi Goldberg in the central role of Deloris Van Cartier and Emma Heydon was therefore faced with the challenge of quickly breaking any preconceptions the audience had to make this part her own.  Thanks to Emma’s stage presence, energy and quirky sense of humour she managed this challenge with consummate ease and I was won over within the first number “Take me to Heaven”. 

Emma managed the transition from New York Gangster’s Moll to Nun with great ease and was completely believable as the catalytic spark that brought a whole new set of experiences to her fellow sisters and why they would follow her lead in both “choral singing with massive lumps of soul” and also in their willingness to expand their horizons of the secular world including taky Bars complete with transvestites and mobsters.

The Sister Mary’s - Suzie Green, Charlotte Lee and Hannah Chamberlain were simply the perfect foil for Emma.  With wide eyed enthusiasm from Suzie right from the off, be it her love of Christmas, willingness to break out of the confines of the church to provide backup at the Bar and unswerving support of Deloris’s liberating agenda.  Suzie’s  high energy delivery, blended with pathos when demanded, was spot on.   Hannah was excellent as the cranky, sarcastic, suspicious but ultimately loyal and reliable Sister Mary Lazarus. Using her dynamic physicality and facial expressions to great comic effect throughout made her character essential without upstaging her fellow Sisters.  Charlotte made Sister Mary Robert a truly three-dimensional character.  Starting as an achingly innocent postulant after having led such her sheltered life she grew into a much more confident young women able to look back with self-understanding in “The life I never Led” which was, for me, the vocal solo highlight of the production.

Following Maggie Smith is no mean feat and Alison Reeves delivered a great performance as the Mother Superior. Bringing out both the annoyance and frustration of having a night-club singer thrust into her quiet ordered life who then starts to, in her eyes, lead the convent into dangerous sin-embracing immoral paths.   A great understated performance that was very well judged from Alison throughout.

The Mobster Crew of Ryan Burnett, Danny De Martino, Mick Windmill-Jones and Thomas Baily have a difficult job on their hands as they have to be at times menacing, (we have to believe that Curtis is a cold blooded killer), and comedic as Joey, TJ and Pablo are perhaps the most incompetent mobsters since Kiss me Kate’s duo.  In all cases they did a great job of providing threat and broad comedy in just the right amounts so they supported the overall narrative effortlessly

Jack Kendall had a great night as “Sweaty” Eddie Souther.  He delivered the shy, apparently gun-shy cop with just the right amount of awkwardness and inner steel that finally resulted in him saving Deloris from Curtis.  Great vocal work from Richard Harvey coupled with strong characterisation as Monsignor O’Hara again supported the overall story line.

The remaining cast of 12 Nuns, Pope, Prostitutes, Transvestites and Dancers all added to enjoyment of the evening and although to numerous to mention by name, should all be congratulated on your various vocal, dance and acting contributions throughout the night.

Staging this show in the New Horizon Church with its very shallow, but very wide stage seemed very natural.  Which means, swan like, that behind-the-scenes Director Siobhan Waddington Taylor and her talented team of Choreographers and Technical Crew had done a huge amount of work to adapt the staging to make the show work so well.   That staging coupled with the great characterisation and acting performances, consistently strong Vocal work, be it solo or chorus, was a testament to the great work that Siobhan and Tom Atkins had done during the rehearsal period ensuring that diction and vocal clarity were a strong point throughout.

Congratulations to all on sound and lighting – this provided great balance between band and stage and the lighting was sympathetic to the action all night. 

A very enjoyable night – many thanks and see you at the Pantomime.

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