Review: Sister Act

Light-hearted and fun but it tries far too hard


Set in late 1970s Philadelphia, Sister Act is a musical created by Alan Menken, Glenn Slater and Cheri & Bill Steinkellner. Based on the film of the same name, the stage offering doesn’t use the motion picture soundtrack; sadly, this is one of many reasons why Sister Act doesn’t work. An original score is perhaps fighting a losing battle when songs such as I Will Follow Him have such iconic status and association with the story.

Whilst the story sticks to the original fairly well, the music offers an entirely different premise. With the exception of maybe three standout songs, the show lacks musical prowess and is altogether frantic and samey. The set is simple but worked well though, clever architecture and lighting effectively created the house of worship.

The dedication to the 70s setting is exemplified with some authentic costumes such as the gangsters who don a variety of patterned suits, brown tweed and horseshoe moustaches. Doloris Van Cartier’s first appearance on the other hand is a far different aesthetic. Not a muted tone in sight, the costumes are sequined and purple and somewhat tacky – but she is a club singer after all!

There were many flaws with the character of Doloris (aka Sister Mary Clarence) as portrayed by Sandra Marvin. Her speech was quite muddy and the accent somewhat forced which made it difficult to understand her at times. She had good stage presence during songs such as Fabulous, Baby but her voice was not as soulful or controlled as you would hope, in fact it started off quite pitchy.

In fairness, it takes some effort to replicate Whoopi Goldberg’s original characterisation with her air of cool and likeability but unfortunately, she did not pull it off. Her performance was altogether too brash. However, the song Sister Act performed in the second half was a stripped back number and felt like one of the only instances where her voice was refined… and it was all the better for it! Sandra sang this very well, displaying a subtlety and vulnerability for the character as well as her own performance.

Lesley Joseph starred as Mother Superior and she played a wonderful part. The pint-sized actress proved that she hasn’t made a career out of comedy without good cause. Whilst her singing or rather talking left a lot to be desired, she had brilliant comic timing and held the show together as the head of the convent.

One of the main failings of the script is that it quite frankly, tried too hard. The humour was cheap and the slapstick elements failed miserably. The jokes generated polite tittles but a lot of it fell flat and felt cringeworthy. That being said, there were some funny moments; what can only be described as a heist scene involving the nuns in the second act was cleverly choregraphed and laugh out loud funny.

Gangsters Pablo (Damian Buhagiar), Joey (Tom Hopcroft) and TJ (Bradley Judge) provided some silly yet amusing moments such as their amazingly choreographed “backing dancers” routine and in particular, their number Lady in the Long Black Dress. This showcased some exceptional falsetto vocals and standout dancing. The casting felt altogether too old-fashioned when it came to the vocals of the principal male characters though, with neither Eddie (Graham MacDuff) or Curtis (Jeremy Secomb) having rich or distinctive voices.

As for the nuns, some bore great likeness to characters from the films. For example, Sister Mary Lazarus (Anne Smith) showed such commitment to the role, her vocals were uncannily similar to the film and she was a funny, effective character. Her hip-hop routine during Sunday Morning Fever was a stand-out moment. Catherine Millsom as Sister Mary Patrick also played a very good part; her theatrics and operatic vocals were excellent.

Sister Mary Robert (Emma Ralston ) however, was too sweetly and childlike, and lacked the punch her character was supposed to have when it came to the vocals, although she did sing her solo The Life I Never Led well, with some impressive sustained notes and big vocal passages. As a whole, the nuns were a great ensemble and their interactions and choral parts were nice. Raise Your Voice was a brilliant number, an enjoyable scene with soulful vocals to conclude the first act.

The second act brought an endearing Sound of Music-esque scene Bless Our Show and a funny moment where Lesley Joseph broke character, but it was styled and actually more humorous than a lot of the script! A huge mention must also go to the orchestra, conducted by Neil MacDonald, who created a brilliant sound and maintained great musicality throughout.

The show certainly got better during the second act which was a lot more palatable concluding with a glitzy finale with a big sound, complete with colourful habits that were blinged up to the nines. Sister Act is very aware of its own silliness and embraces it, at times it was fun to immerse yourself in but very often, it was overbearing.

When compared to the film that we know and love, Sister Act the musical is a pale imitation but even as a separate entity, it is still severely lacking. With Whoopi Goldberg as a producer, one would hope for more but as it is, I’d stick to the film.