Theater Review: Sister Act
The sisters. Photo by Joan Marcus.
They Rock the House -- of God, That is
By Lauren Yarger
When crass wannabe singer Deloris Van Cartier -- like the jewelry, she tells us -- witnesses her boyfriend/promoter commit a murder and finds herself at the top of his hit list, what’s a girl to do?
Well, if this is Sister Act, the hit movie starring Whoopie Goldberg or the new Broadway musical she is producing based on the film, the girl goes undercover in a convent with a bunch of unsuspecting, unworldly, wannabe-singer nuns. Chaos, fun and a lot of good singing ensue.
Police officer Eddie Souther (Chester Gregory) comes up with the plan to protect the girl he had a crush on in high school until she can testify and put Curtis Jackson (Kingsley Leggs) away for good. Mother Superior (played with great comedic flare by the super-talented Victoria Clark) reluctantly agrees after Monsignor O’Hara (Fred Applegate) tells her a hefty donation from the police might postpone having to sell the financially struggling parish and split the nuns up.
Mother is concerned about Deloris’ influence on the cloistered sisters, however, especially the impressionable Mary Patrick (Sarah Bolt) and postulant Mary Robert (Marla Mindelle). She puts the lounge singer where she's sure she can do no harm: in charge of the really pathetic-sounding choir headed by Sister Mary Lazarus (Audrie Neenan), but the plan backfires. Deloris trades in hymns for a more rocking repertoire and suddenly the nuns are bopping, hitting the rafters with notes they didn’t know they had, packing in the crowds and their donation dollars and attracting media attention which might lead Curtis right to Deloris.
Cheri and Bill Steinkellner (with additional material from Douglas Carter Beane) keep the book pretty close to the movie script (written by Joseph Howard) and employ lots of good humor. They overdo the “nun’s are stupid and uninteresting” joke, however, and one scene, where Curtis’ henchmen, Joey (John Treacy Egan), Pablo (Caesar Samoyoa) and TJ (Demond Green) sing about seducing the sisters, really crosses the tasteless line.
Jerry Zaks directs the show at almost break-neck speed.. Perhaps that’s because there are a lot of great songs by Alan Menken to get in around the plot. He writes a really nice score full of different sound styles with a few ballads to show off Miller’s elasticity and high-belt ability. Glen Slater’s lyrics are simple, but are fun and do a nice job tying the emotions and plot.
Anthony Van Laast over choreographs (enough with the arm and hand motions already…) and costume designer Lez Brotherston, obviously frustrated with the black and white habits, invents sparkly additions for the nuns to wear that rival those of Deloris and her lounge backup singers (Kashidra Scott and Alena Watters). There also are some clever break-aways for Eddie. Designer Klara Zieglerova creates a variety of slide-into-place sets, including the colossal stain-glass church with a “Holy Crow!” sized statue of the Virgin Mary that joins in the action.
It’s entertaining, if overdone. Catch it at the Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway, NYC. Discounted tickets are available at http://www.givenik.com/show_info.php/Masterworks/290/individual.
Christians might also like to know:
God’s name taken in vain
Cross dressing (one character, one scene)
Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.
** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.
My Bio
Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York.
Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.
She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at
http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.
She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (
http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.
She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.
She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter.
Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.
Copyright
All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com
Key to Content Notes:
God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.
Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.
Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.
Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.
Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.
Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.
Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.
Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.
Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.
Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.
Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.
Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women
or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.
Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.
The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.
Reviewing Policy
I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.
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