Alan Menken’s divine score brings back its heavenly chills to the West End, in this new revised production playing at the Dominion Theatre until the end of summer. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if this festival of cross-dressers has truly left him god-smacked.
“It’s better than sex!!”. Why, thank you for the acknowledgement, Deloris – it’s taking me a lot of hard work and pumping my talent to get there. I mean, arrive. I mean, come… Damn it! Ooops, sorry – didn’t mean to be blasphemous in the house of the Lord (*smirk*). But to be honest, that line has become one of the strongest references of the film, apart from my catchphrase for years ever since I was ten… Yeah, I was not an ordinary kid, you see… Big boy… as for the things I thought of… Let’s just leave it.
Let’s get down to business, to defeat… the nuns. Sorry, a bit of Catholic trauma lingering around there. In any case, that steamy sentence that set the wives of God on fire (figure of speech) back in the 90s is no longer featured in the revised 2 hour and half ‘Philadelphia-sound’ musical adaptation. But that may be the only element that, apart from some tiny deviations, has been scrapped in this swanky celebration of soul-based joy – still going pretty much by the book, just not the Holy one, thank God… I mean… And much to the dismay of a few priests, it’s still a lot of fun!
Put your hands together and your habits on (we’ve all had our fantasies…) for the most graceful musical ever to be raised to the altars. Sister Act has returned, b*tc—… Forgive me, daddy (father!). And it goes without confession that there’s more than a few reasons for you to pop down and take a look. Start with an electrifying score by legendary musical theatre composer Alan Menken, it’s no overstatement to say some of its melodies are simply fabulous, baby. Piece it together with Doug Besterman and Mark Cumberland’s remarkable orchestrations (full of life, colour and intricacy) and you’re in for eternal glory!
Following the churchescapades of the 1992 Whoopi Golberg global hit film, the show captures, to a satisfying extent, the charm and stamina of the original, providing us with an evening of light, feel-good amusement through a set of earthly jokes and celestial chanting. Nonetheless, there’s several aspects of its writing still waiting in purgatory – the principal issue stemming from its, generally, not too-well-structured book. Written by Cheri and Bill Steikellner (with additions by Douglas Carter Beane) the dialogue manages to move the action forward with some rhythm, but fails to provide enough strength to the scenes and, above all, sufficient buildup for the songs to organically fade in.
Back in the day when I started this magazine, I was interviwing lyricist Glenn Slater about the creation of the piece. He did admit that, despite their many attempts at fixing it, they could never find the solution for what, they thought, it was a rather problematic opening. The tries have continued in this take, now featuring a cut-to-one-minute version of the initial Take Me To Heaven, basically reduced to a diegetic sample to allow the recount to flow faster. It doesn’t do the trick, though. And the reason why lies in its essence.
This is a musical, not a play. A proper opening number should be its first, fifth and eleventh commandment (I’m not following religious dogma, I’m just a dom). It’s not that the original tune is too long. It’s the way it’s staged that doesn’t work. Deloris is a struggling performer aspiring to become the next recording label sensation. Why not give it to her for the first 4 minutes? Give us a visually stunning concert that, in a flash of light at the end, is revealed to be a figment of her imagination – thus setting exposition and character construction without jumping into the “I want” anthem so abruptly.
On the other hand, there’s a couple of numbers missing to make the montage more memorable. I’ve always thought that a song covering Deloris’ conflict on going from her cabaret clothes to the convent attire would explore the character’s motives more thoroughly, but it would actually be hilarious. In addition, previous replacements like ‘It’s Good To Be A Nun’ (done a long time ago) are still sacrilegious to me, as its earlier form, How I Got My Calling gives ground, in my opinion, to a much more enjoyable situation (for the audience, not for Deloris, that is…).
Anyway, it’s still fair to say I’ve swallowed the wafer (gee – another scandal) thanks to the astonishing values this production has to offer. With scenography and costume design by Morgan Large, we can all praise the Lord for the return of entirely practical sets to the stage – delivering an opulent yet extremely dynamic universe that’s beautifully complemented by Tim Mitchell’s exceptional lighting, giving texture, atmosphere and, of course, glowing splendour to its already sumptuous visuals.
But of course, it would be a sin not to give credit to its rather sensational cast. They may have given chastity (no-one’s looking, just saying…) and austerity vows, but their performances aren’t by any means poor. Carl Mullaney makes a memorable appearance through his high-camp portrayal of Monsignor O’Hara, while Clive Rowe boasts some applaudable vocals in the role of “Steady” (formerly, “Sweaty”…) Eddie. Yet, our prayers can’t go anywhere but to Ruth Jones in her uproariously Welsh-ified rendition of Mother Superior, as well as Beverly Knight in her immaculate conception of Deloris Van Cartier, filled with infectious attitude and vigor, and above all, extraordinary singing abilities.
A rather sublime display of intoxicating sound and eye-catching images, Sister Act blesses the stage with its ravishing lavishness by taking us back to the old-time mega-musical form, but still needs to craft the sacred hallow that will secure its place in eternal paradise. If you’re looking for an easy, entertaining night out, chances are you won’t be disappointed. And there’s no doubt that the show has been written with no higher purpose than that. But for the halo to be granted, all of its components need to shine bright.
All pictures credit to Johan Persson.
Sister Act plays at London’s Dominion Theatre until 31 August. Tickets are available on the following link.