The story follows club singer
Deloris Van Cartier as she takes refuge in a local convent, hiding from her
gangster boyfriend, Curtis, after witnessing him commit a murder, in fear of
her life and as such becomes embroiled in developing the singing ability of the
sisters in the convent and bringing the power of music to the local parish. In
doing so, much to her surprise, she makes new friends of the sisters and
develops a strong bond with them and Mother Superior played by Jennifer
Saunders.
It was a full house of eagerly
awaiting theatre-goers ranging from young teenagers to more mature
musical-lovers who enthusiastically welcomed Deloris (Sandra Marvin) dressed in
a purple glittery mini dress and knee-high purple suede boots with an oversized
afro hair-do, belting out “Take Me To Heaven” in the opening sequence set in a
night club as the curtain went up. It
was evident from the start that the audience was ready to enjoy the performance
and had prior knowledge of the story and what to expect in terms of comedy and
musical delights. When Jennifer Saunders
first graced the stage, she was welcomed with rapturous applause and cheering.
This is an extremely slick
production, everyone's timing was perfect and the set changes and lighting are simple
but really effective. They mainly consisted of a set of large semi-circular
arches which were lit up with different colours throughout the performance
depending on the required scene locations; the opening act after the interval
was particularly impressive depicting the convent with a crucifix centre stage;
it truly eclipsed the atmosphere and setting of a convent aka Our Lady Of
Perpetual Sorrows and was accompanied by the nuns walking down the aisle from
the back of the auditorium to the stage.
The whole cast are full of energy
and sang, acted and looked outstanding; the songs are inspired by Motown, soul
and disco and along with the 1970’s inspired costumes the show is authentic and
nostalgic; the score and script contain moments that are at times very funny
and at others very moving.
The plot maybe a touch transparent
and somewhat hackneyed and some may say that no-one can replace Whoopi in the
original film but this is an amazing Sister Act experience, a joyous and
hilarious musical in a nostalgia-filled trip back to the 1970s.
The ensemble were energetic and
in very good voice; the comedy routines were excellent with spot-on timing and
the comedy caper in the second half was somewhat reminiscent of the Keystone
Cops from the silent film era.
Lesley Joseph portrayed an
excellent comedic Hip Hop and rapper nun, and Keala Settle’s facial expressions as Sister Mary Patrick are extraordinary. Clive Rowe as Steady Eddy has a
remarkable singing voice and range along with comedic brilliance, and Lizzie Bea
as young Sister Mary Robert is
faultless. The chorus vocals from all the nuns are beautiful and have to be heard
to be believed and a lot of their facial expressions have to be seen to be
believed also.
A must-mention are the three partners-in-crime of Deloris’s gangster
boyfriend, Curtis, who stole the show with their comedy routines plus the dance
routines and singing of the entire ensemble which were top notch.
The songs included in the show are excellent, mainly performed by Sandra
Marvin as Deloris who excels in the role; her singing voice is dazzling and her
leading-lady performance is outstanding.
One small niggle may be that the show doesn’t include any songs
from the original film; some theatre-goers may be disappointed that the
beautiful song, "I Will Follow Him" is excluded from this show but
those which are included are uplifting such as ‘I’ve Got My Sisters’ and ‘The
Life I’ve Never Led.’
The final scene of the show is
full of glitter, glam and uplifting vocal arrangements which is not to be
missed as after seeing the previous scenes which are mainly of the nuns in
their black habits, is a dazzling array or spectacular sparkling colour.
This is a light-hearted fun show
which is poignant at times and will pull at the heartstrings but overall it is
a beautiful professionally constructed piece with comedy and energy in every
scene which will delight young and old alike; the performances are all exceptional
and the singing and music a great tonic; everyone definitely went home in a real feel-good
mood.
The show got a very well deserved
standing ovation with the audience wanting more.
The show is at The Palace Theatre
Manchester until 9th July 2022.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
on - 4.7.22
No comments:
Post a Comment