Sister Act

This evening we had the pleasure of seeing Sister Act the musical performed by Splinters Theatre Group at the Montgomery Theatre ,Sheffield . Sister Act the musical was based on the 1992 film featuring Whoopi Golberg with music by Alan Menken.

On entering the theatre to an open stage we immediately felt the magical lighting effect which set the tone for the performance to follow. The fast moving song and dance performance did not fail to impress.From the opening number featuring Deloris ,Shorelle Hepkin wonderfully supported by Tina , Louise and Michelle, Emily Bidder,Megan Romano and Rachel Wadsworth through to the finale the cast never dropped the pace and enjoyment of feel good musical. Mother Superior played by Georgina Willows gave a really powerful performance through her acting singing and showing the many emotions required with this role. 

The other main sisters,Sister Mary Roberts,Faith Hardy.Sister Mary Patrick ,Ashleigh Badham and Sister Mary Lazarus ,Isabel Berriman all commanding the stage with  their varying roles.The singing from everyone was a pleasure to listen to, be it solos or groups .I particularly enjoyed the many and varied characterisations they portrayed.

The thuggish gang evilly led by Curtis, Ted Tooley with T J ,Trevonte Golding . Joey ,Joshua Holliday and Pablo ,Matt Bevan all performed their roles with great enthusiasm along with some excellent singing showing off the many talents they all had . 

Eddie Souther played by Daniel Schofield the inappropriately nicknamed Sweaty Eddie gave a commanding performance in his acting and singing with some lovely comedic touches in particular with the clever staging and quick changes during Fabulous baby in Act 2 which was a joy to watch. I was very impressed with the talented Joe White playing Monsignor O'Hara who filled the stage with his wide cheeky smiles every time he appeared , particularly during some quality scenes with Mother Superior.

Strong performances by Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours,Grace Hadabora and Sister Mary Theresa ,Amber Child-Cavill completed the principal Sisters line up .With Ernie ,Finn Greasley playing several parts. 

Whilst mentioning the principal cast by name the remaining ensemble members all performed with such vitality,consistently strong singing and never slipping out of character,well done.You should all be proud of your performances and never think being at the back of certain numbers you can relax because you can't .I was delighted to see you didn't .

The production team should all be complemented for their many and varied visions of producing Sister Act. The shaping ,choreography and attention to detail was very pleasing..One small comment I would make was that just occasionally words were lost ,partly due to the speed of delivery ,a small thing to remember but not at all detracting from what you all achieved. 

The lighting was outstanding and compliments go to Tom Dyson and the production team. Clever use of props and efficient set changes kept the show flowing throughout..The sound was nicely balanced between cast and the excellent orchestra allowing the audience to hear everything clearly so well done to Paul Minott and your MD Andrew Butterfield.

To the whole team,front of house,backstage stage management thank you for an excellent evening .

Earlier in my comments I made little reference to your Deloris Van Cartier, wow what a performance . Sister Act so demands a particular strength in this character ,the many emotions required , the highs and lows,quality acting skills and not least a beautiful powerful voice. My compliments go to you Shorelle Hepkin for making the character your own.

Finally SplintersTheatre Group is made up of performers between 14-30 , and the quality of this evening's performance was summed up by the well deserved standing ovation.

Don't miss this excellent production.

 

 

 

 

 This evening we had the pleasure of seeing Sister Act performed by Splinters Theatre group at the Montgomery Theatre ,Sheffield. Sister Act the musical was based on the 1992 film featuring Whoopi Golberg with music by Alan Menken .On entering the theatre to an open stage we immediately felt the magical lighting effect , which set the tone for the performance to follow. This fast moving,song and movement filled production didnt fail to impress. From the opening number featuring Deloris, Shorelle Hepkin,wonderfully supported by Tina Louise and Michelle,Emily Bidder,Megan Romano and Rachel Wadsworth through to the finale the cast never dropped the pace and enjoyment of this feel good musical. Mother Superior played by Georgina Willows gave a really powerful performance through  her acting and singing,going through the many emotions required with this role.The other main Sisters, Sister Mary Roberts,Faith Hardy. Sister Mary Patrick ,Ashleigh Badham.Sister Mary Lazarus Isabel Berriman all commanding the stage with their roles. The singing from everyone was a pleasure to listen to and I particularily enjoyed the many and varied characterisations they portrayed.The thugish gang evily led by Curtis,Ted Tooley,with T J ,Trevonte Golding, Joey , Joshua Holliday, Pablo , Matt Bevan all played their  roles with great enthusiasm along with excellent singing showing their many talents . Eddie Souther played by Daniel Schofield the  inappropriately nicknamed sweaty Eddie gave a commanding performance in acting and singing with some lovely comedic touches and  the clever staging of the multiple changes during Fabulous Baby in Act 2 was a joy to watch. I was very impressed by the talents of Joe White playing  Monsignor O'Hara  who filled the stage with his wide cheeky smiles every time he appeared, particularly  during some quality scenes with Mother Superior. Strong performances by Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours ,Grace Hadabora and Sister Mary Theresa ,Amber Child-Cavill completed the principal Sister line up ,with Ernie ,Finn Greasley playing several parts.Whilst mentioning the principal cast members by name the remaining ensemble members all performed with such vitality ,consistently strong singing and never slipping out of character,well done.You should all be proud of your performances but never think being at the back of group numbers you can relax because you can't. I was delighted to see you didn't.The production team should be complemented for their many and various visions of  the show. The shaping ,coreography attention to detail was very pleasing. One small comment i would make was that just occasionally words were lost, partly due to the speed of delivery , a small thing to remember but not detracting from what you all achieved . The lighting was outstanding and complements go to Tom Dyson and the production team ,The sound was nicely blended between the cast and orchestra, allowing the audiences to enjoy all the songs and lib,well done to Paul Minott,sound  and to your MD Andrew Butterfield. To the whole team,backstage, set build , front of house thank you for a most enjoyable evening. 

Earlier in my comments I made little reference to your Deloris Van Cartier , wow what a performance. Sister Act so demands a particular strength in this character. the many emotions required,the highs and lows ,the acting skills and not least such a beautiful powerful voice. My compliments go to you Shorelle Hepkin for making the character your own.

Finally if you haven't already bought your tickets, dont miss this excellent production. 

Philip Smith.

 District 6 Regional Noda Rep

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