| Sister Act | |
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| Poster for the London production | |
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| Music | Alan Menken |
| Lyrics | Glenn Slater |
| Book | Bill and Cherie Steinkellner |
| Basis | 1992 film Sister Act |
| Productions | 2006 Pasadena 2007 Atlanta 2009 West End 2010 Broadway |
Sister Act is a musical with a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by Alan Menken. It is based on the hit 1992 film comedy of the same name. The West End production was produced by Stage Entertainment and Whoopi Goldberg.
Contents |
Synopsis
Act 1
The show opens in 1978 Philadelphia, with the Mother Superior declaring that the convent is in need (‘’Prologue’’) before we see Deloris Van Cartier performing in the night club run by her gangster boyfriend Curtis Shank (“Take Me to Heaven”). Deloris is overjoyed as she believes her boyfriend is going to introduce her to a record producer on that day (her birthday), although she soon learns that this is not to be. Hurt and frustrated, Deloris goes to her backup singers KT and LaRosa, about her dreams of stardom and fame ("Fabulous, Baby!"). She decides to break up with Shank and head out of Philadelphia to go fulfill her dreams on her own. However she gets to Shank just in time to see him and his crew made up of nephew TJ, Bones, and Dinero, shoot someone who they believe has "squealed" about them to the cops. Horrified, Deloris runs away and Shank orders his men to get her and bring her back. Deloris runs to a police station and tells the desk chief, Eddie about what happens. The two recognise each other as old friends from school with Deloris calling him "Sweaty Eddie". Eddie decides that Deloris needs to go into the witness protection program and sends her to the place he believes Shank will never find her - a convent called The Holy Order of the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith.
Deloris is disappointed by this idea as she learns from the Mother Superior that contact with the outside world is limited, and that she cannot smoke, drink, or wear any of her less than appropriate clothing (“Here Within These Walls”). Deloris joins the other nuns for dinner and after several comedic interactions include with the overly perky Sister Mary Patrick, Deloris discovers how the other nuns got their "calling" from the Lord ("How I Got The Calling"). They then ask Deloris to share her story with them and she lies.
Meanwhile back in his nightclub, Shank is frustrated that he cannot find Deloris anywhere. He tells his goons how he will not stop until he finds and kills Deloris (“When I Find My Baby”). Back at the convent Deloris is bored by the simple life of the nuns and decides to hit the town. She goes across the street to a slinky bar, and is followed by Sister Mary Lazarus, Sister Mary Patrick, and Sister Mary Robert. When the three nuns arrive they are shocked to find Sister Mary Clarence (Deloris' undercover name) drinking and dancing, however they assume that she is attempting to save the lost souls in the bar. Deloris goes along with this idea and gets the whole bar dancing (“Do the Sacred Mass”). However, the joyful mood is quickly destroyed when Deloris recognises Shank's boys entering the bar. She tries to hide herself as they ask people in the bar if they've seen Deloris. Suddenly there is a fight in the bar which has to be broken up by Eddie and the Mother Superior, who orders the nuns to go back to the convent. She then confronts Deloris telling her that she must conform to the life of the nuns. Eddie agrees, telling Deloris that Shank has upped the price on her head, so she needs to be careful. Deloris storms back to the convent after being informed that she has to wake up at 5 a.m. and join the choir. Eddie, now alone with only the drunks and homeless on the street, sings of his desire to be cool, to let go, and impress Deloris (“I Could Be That Guy”).
The following morning Deloris attends the choir practice and loudly admits that the choir sounds terrible. This prompts the Mother Superior to let Deloris lead the choir. Deloris does so and teaches the nuns how to sing in key and on time. She also manages to break the quiet and timid Sister Mary Roberts out of her shell (“Raise Your Voice”). That Sunday, the choir perform an up-tempo hymn (“Take Me to Heaven (Reprise)”) which to the struggling church’s surprise brings in more people and more donations. The Mother Superior, however, is horrified how the simple traditional choir she knew has changed and become modern. The news of the choir soon spreads with photographers and news reporters coming in to get the story behind the latest sensation - this wonderful nontraditional choir.
Act 2
Over the coming weeks, the choir has become incredibly successful and the money from donations has paid for the church to be remodelled and fixed (“Sunday Morning Fever”). However, the newfound fame comes at a price. Shank and his goons spot Deloris with the choir in the newspaper. Shank orders his boys to get into the convent and bring Deloris to him. TJ, Bones, and Dinero discuss how they will do this ("Lady in the Long Black Dress"). Meanwhile, back at the church, Monsignor Howard has some terrific news: the choir has been asked to perform a special concert in front of the pope. The choir are overjoyed but nervous and that night they ask Deloris to pray for their success (“Bless Our Show”). Deloris is also looking forward to the occasion, although the Mother Superior calls her over and tells her that Shank's men have just come looking for her and she must leave quickly. The other nuns overhear and Deloris is forced to tell them the truth about who she really is and that she cannot perform with them. Deloris quickly runs off to get her things followed by Sister Mary Roberts while the other nuns disappointedly go back to their rooms. Alone in Deloris’ room, the Mother Superior expresses joy that life can go back to being as it was. However it is evident that she, along with the other nuns, have developed a love for Sister Mary Clarence and her modern if somewhat unorthodox ways ("Here Within These Walls (Reprise)").
As Deloris prepares to leave Sister Mary Robert begs to come with her, claiming that she has been inspired to become a stronger person and go after the things she wants (“The Life I Never Led”). Deloris tells her that she doesn't need her to do that, and that she can do it all herself if she really wants to. Deloris runs from the convent and stays at Eddie's house for the night. While there she initially is overjoyed that the following day she will testify against Shank and his boys and then go back to pursuing the career she's dreamed of (“Fabulous, Baby! (Reprise)”). She soon realises, though, that she doesn't need fame and fortune. She needs her sisters and friends and decides to go back to the convent and sing with them (“Sister Act”).
Meanwhile, Shank thinks up a new way to get into the convent (“When I Find My Baby (Reprise)”). Dressed as nuns, Shank and his boys sneak into the convent; they find and chase Deloris. Sister Mary Patrick, who has seen what has happened, informs the other nuns who insist they must go and help Deloris. The Mother Superior, however, is adamant that they stay and call the police, prompting an outburst from Sister Mary Roberts who tells her that she won’t be quiet and take orders blindly anymore; that that she is going to help Deloris (“The Life I Never Led (Reprise)”). The other nuns agree and all of them go running through the convent looking for Deloris. It all comes down to a final confrontation in which Shank, armed and dangerous, tells Deloris to get on her knees and beg for her life. However, all the sisters and nuns stand in front of her telling Shank that they will have to go through them first (“Sister Act (Reprise)”). Shank is about to start firing at the nuns when Eddie comes in and fights Shank off. He arrests Shank and his boys and then asks Deloris out on a date which she accepts. Mother Superior and Deloris come to a truce and accept that perhaps they are not so different after all. The show ends with all the nuns and eventually the entire cast performing for the Pope (“Spread the Love Around”).
Early Productions
Directed by Peter Schneider and choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, the musical premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California on October 24, 2006 and closed on December 23, 2006.[1] It broke records, grossing $1,085,929 to become the highest grossing show ever at the venue.[2] Patina Miller, who would later go on to play the role of Deloris when the show opened in London, was in the ensemble and understudied Deloris.[3]
Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times stated it has "Broadway blockbuster written all over it," and Laurence Vittes described it as "hugely entertaining... likely to become a classic" in The Hollywood Reporter. In his Theatremania.com review, Jonas Schwartz was less enthusiastic, saying it "suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. When focused within the confines of the church and the convent, the show is heavenly, singing loudly and confidently. However, the scenes that take place in the outside world are painted with unnecessarily broad and occasionally offensive strokes. Moreover, Dawnn Lewis lacks punch in the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier... [she] is too whiny to fully command the stage."
The production then moved to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, where it ran from January 17 - February 25, 2007. The cast included Dawnn Lewis as Deloris, Elizabeth Ward Land as the Mother Superior, and Harrison White as Curtis. [4]
Curt Holman, writing for the Atlanta-based website CreativeLoafing.com, described it as "a whiplash-inducing experience of genuinely clever and exuberant flourishes alternating with cringe-inducing embarrassments.... The weakest parts of Sister Act tend to be the most faithful moments to the film, which makes you wonder what Menken, Slater and the production's delightful design team could have done with original material." [5]
2009 West End Production
Sister Act opened in the West End at the London Palladium on June 2, 2009, following previews from May 7. The production was directed by Peter Schneider and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast, with set design by Klara Zieglerova, costume design by Lez Brotherston and lighting design by Natasha Katz.[6][7] Following a year-long search, 24-year-old actress Patina Miller was cast as Deloris, alongside Sheila Hancock as the Mother Superior, Ian Lavender as Monsignor Howard, Chris Jarman as Shank, Ako Mitchell as Eddie,
Critical reception
Critical opinion has been mixed. Ian Shuttleworth of the Financial Times thought although the plot is filled with "great holes," "It’s not a brainless show; Glenn Slater’s lyrics are often enjoyably sharp. It’s just that whenever the choice arises between creative and commercial, commercial wins out every time." [9]
Writing in The Telegraph, Charles Spencer said Sister Act "proves more enjoyable on stage than it did on film" and "the cheers and standing ovation at the end were both genuine and deserved." He added, "The book, by Cheers writers Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, is strong, funny and touching. And the disco-inspired score by Disney favourite Alan Menken, with neat lyrics by Glenn Slater, is a cracker. Frankly, what’s not to like, especially when you’ve got a chorus line of jiving nuns singing their hearts out ecstatically?" [10]
While Michael Billington of The Guardian thought Alan Menken's music "has a pounding effectiveness," he rated the musical only two out of five stars, calling it "noisily aggressive" and "a show that feels less like a personally driven work of art than a commercial exploitation of an existing franchise." He continued, "What was originally a fairytale fantasy . . . makes little sense in its new, vulgarised incarnation. In the movie, the music arose naturally from the story: there was even a certain wit about seeing a group of wimpled warblers turned into a cohesive unit. But here, long before the heroine has got to work on their larynxes, they are leaping about the stage like showbiz pros telling us How I Got the Calling. In order to pad out a slight story, every key member of the cast also has to be given a number. As a result, the plot grinds to a halt while we hear about the macho fantasies of a sweaty cop, or the hoodlums weary us with their own wet dreams." [11]
In the Evening Standard, Fiona Mountford rated it four out of five stars and stated, "Whether or not divine intervention is involved, it’s a wimple-wibbling, habit-forming triumph." [12] Benedict Nightingale of The Times rated the show three out of five stars, observing that "a rather sweet, sentimental film has been hyped up, coarsened, given what — were the Palladium flown to Times Square — we’d call the big, brash Broadway treatment . . . There’s less deft comedy, but much more music, most of it indebted to the 1970s, where the action is now set. That lets Alan Menken, the composer, have a lot of catchy fun with period rock and disco." [13]
In his review for the Daily Mail, Quentin Letts stated, "Call me a miserable old monk but I hated Sister Act. I hated its artistic laziness, its predictability, its incuriosity, its idea that disco is divine and that spirituality can never be found in discreet and dignified worship . . . I know I may be taking it too seriously but I found myself recoiling sharply from this story's saccharine values and its bullying gaiety. The thing is as shallow as the Aral Sea." [14]
David Benedict of Variety cited its "slow start" and "clunky storytelling" but thought "the cumulative effect is shamelessly and irresistibly entertaining." [15]
Song list
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[16] Act I
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Act II
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References
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio"Sister Act — Musical Based on Film — Opens World-Premiere Run November 3",playbill.com, November 2006
- ^ Sister Act Sets Pasadena Playhouse Record
- ^ Sister Act Makes World Premiere in Pasadena
- ^ "SISTER ACT the Musical listing",alliancetheatre.org, accessed November 27, 2008
- ^ CreativeLoafing.com review
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Habit Forming: Whoopi Goldberg to Produce London Premiere of Sister Act",playbill.com, November 13, 2008
- ^ Official Website
- ^ Sister Act, A Divine Musical Comedy."Sister Act Cast is announced", sisteractthemusical.com, 29 January 2009
- ^ Financial Times review
- ^ The Telegraph review
- ^ The Guardian review
- ^ Evening Standard review
- ^ The Times review
- ^ Daily Mail review
- ^ Variety review
- ^ Sister Act Programme
External links
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