Reviewed by Laura Kennelly
In “Sister Act,” a spicy mix of naughty and nice, crime and nuns make a comically perfect pairing at the Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square (through March 17). When the show opens it’s Philadelphia and it’s 1978. Action begins (after a stylish rendition of “Take Me to Heaven”) when Delores/Deloris, a nightclub performer wanna-be, witnesses her lover shoot an informant. Where can she hide? The police hide her in a nunnery (of course, perfect disguise).
The ensuing merriment creates a show full of glamorous costumes, fun dance numbers, clever ensemble and solo work, and a walk back into a musical time which I’m just as glad has passed. The score both celebrates and pokes fun at those great old tunes (there’s a delicious parody of “Saturday Night Fever”), styles, and fads of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
As singer Delores Carter (who has bejeweled her name–she’s now calling her diva self “Deloris Van Cartier”), Ta’rea Campbell glams up the role Whoopi Goldberg originated in “Sister Act,” the movie. Campbell’s comic skills shine as Deloris is simultaneously frenetic and loveable as she tries to both hide and stage a show to save the nun’s home church.
Hollis Resnik ably creates a straight-laced but kind Mother Superior who can sing much better than her charges (at first). Todd A. Horman (Joey), Ernie Pruneda (Pablo), and Charles Barksdale (TJ) do outstanding comic turns as the trio of gangsters looking for Delores/Deloris, especially in “Lady in the Long Black Dress” where they try to “charm” the nuns with lyrics such as “Hey, lady in the long black dress . . . let’s sneak away and go transgress.” The overall outstanding cast delivers a merry evening laced with satires of both tunes and performances from the era.
Catholics can laugh knowingly when the good sisters’ choir sings in the first act. Yes, that’s the way most churches sound these days too–kinda timid, a little off key. By the time the show ends, however, the priest has come into his own “Barry White” and little miss nun wanna-be Sister Mary Robert (sweetly played by Lael Van Keuren) finds her own voice–and does she ever. This gentle satire of Catholics and quite funny (and topical) in the very last scene.
Time flies as this witty, tuneful musical makes light fun of “old” pop music. It’s the best yet of the current Broadway Series at Playhouse Square.
3/5/2013
Call 216-241-6000 for tickets or go online to playhousesquare.org.
Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.
Cleveland, OH 44115