‘Sister Act’ review: Stale musical can still be good for the soul
“Sister Act” has been on quite the pilgrimage since its world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2006.
Retooled for London’s West End after a run at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, the show underwent further revision before making its way to Broadway, where it received five Tony nominations in a season dominated by another musical shimmying insouciantly to the Lord, “The Book of Mormon.”
Those soulful (in the R&B sense) nuns have returned to Los Angeles in this touring Broadway production, which opened Tuesday at the Pantages Theatre. Not a scintillating musical by any means, “Sister Act” offers generic exuberance for a sultry summer night when a groove and a giggle are all that’s required to send audiences home smiling.
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Based on the 1992 movie that starred Whoopi Goldberg, who serves as one of the musical’s producers, the show sticks to the same heathen-fish-in-holy-water scenario. After witnessing her gangster boyfriend knock someone off, Deloris Van Cartier (Ta’Rea Campbell), a struggling club singer in late 1970s Philadelphia, is placed in protective custody in a convent, where her disreputable ways are at odds with the strict Catholic order overseen by a no-nonsense Mother Superior (Hollis Resnik).
In danger of being expelled from her safe haven after taking two of the nuns to a local dive, Deloris finds salvation in her musical ability. With her powerhouse vocals and flashy diva example, she transforms the convent’s meek choir into a boogieing gospel troupe that attracts new parishioners to a congregation facing hard times. But will the church’s newfound popularity allow her to maintain her cover?
Retelling the plot feels a bit foolish because it’s hard to imagine anyone setting out to see “Sister Act” for the suspense of its story. The book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, Emmy-winning writers for “Cheers,” has been comically punched up by playwright Douglas Carter Beane, but it’s still basically a situation stretched out along hackneyed lines. There’s a stale obviousness to the humor that makes it possible to predict quips before they’re delivered. The only thing surprising about the writing is how unsurprising it is.
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The score by multiple Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken (music) and Glenn Slater (lyrics) isn’t exactly flush with originality. There are ballads that seem retrieved from the duo’s discarded Disney pile. But in the up-tempo numbers when Deloris and her backup gaggle of nuns let it all hang out, there’s a retro verve that does the trick of raising the musical’s temperature.
Mischievous Mary Patrick (Florrie Bagel), mousy Mary Robert (Lael Van Keuren) and crusty Mary Lazarus (Diane J. Findlay) learn to get funky with the Lord as Deloris leads them higher and higher into a disco frenzy with “Take Me to Heaven” and “Sunday Morning Fever.”
Campbell’s awesome singing is three-quarters of the show, and it’s a shame that the flat dialogue couldn’t have been replaced with lyrics for her to belt. “Sister Act: The Concert” would give us less to criticize.
The orchestra, under the musical supervision of Michael Kosarin, fills the Pantages with luscious sound that the men get to take advantage of too.
Good-guy cop “Sweaty” Eddie (E. Clayton Cornelious) makes the most of his fantasy number “I Could Be That Guy” while bad guy Curtis (Kingsley Leggs) and his goons get to malevolently croon “When I Find My Baby.” (Those goons, played by Todd A. Horman, Ernie Pruneda and Charles Barksdale, momentarily steal the show with the Floaters-inspired number “Lady in the Long Black Dress.”)
Directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast, the show, which travels to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in August, has the mass-produced flavor of junk food. There’s nothing distinctly homemade about the production, but sometimes a package of hard chocolate chip cookies will suffice.
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‘Sister Act’
Where: Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood
When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 28.
Tickets: Start at $25
Contact: https://www.HollywoodPantages.com or (800) 982-2787
Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
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