Review: SISTER ACT at New Theatre Restaurant

For a really, enjoyable evening, don't miss New Theatre Restaurant's musicalized version of the 1992 film comedy "Sister Act" with a great score by Alan Menken and Glen Slater. Here is a show with a cast that features absolutely NO WEAK SISTERS. Seldom does an audience get to sit back and simply smile. You know what is coming and it is still fun.

Alexis J. Roston is delightful as Deloris Van Cartier, an up and coming Philadelphia lounge singer, who has the misfortune of seeing her married, Gangster, boyfriend Curtis Jackson (and real life husband Kelvin Roston, Jr.) murder an undercover cop. Terrified, she runs to the local precinct house surprisingly manned by an old high school classmate, now Detective "Sweaty Eddie" (Andy Penn).

Deloris agrees to be an eyewitness to the crime and is gravely at risk, but Eddie promises to protect her until her court appearance and chooses to stash her in the most unlikely place he can think of. Deloris, now renamed Sister Mary Clarence, takes up residence in midst of a gaggle of eccentric nuns. Curtis and his crew (three of the Robin's Seven Hoods) bumble and stumble their way in Deloris' direction to eliminate the witness.

The church attached to the convent has its own challenge. The parish is about to be closed due to low attendance at mass. The choir (populated by the nuns) is so bad that even the angels wear earplugs.

Mother Superior (Julie Shaw) resists hiding Deloris in her cloister, but finally gives in. Deloris balks at the tight religious restrictions, but to keep her busy she is assigned choirmaster. Deloris amazes herself and everyone else when she discovers she actually likes these women and turns them into an awesome, albeit unconventional, singing group. Parishioners notice too and for the first time in thirty years, the pews fill up.

Beyond the Roston's (who are based in Chicago), Director Richard Carrothers has made a "habit" (small Nun Joke) of assembling a mostly local, high class, talented cast. These actors are all fun. Shanna Jones as Sister Mary Patrick always makes me giggle and lights up any stage she graces. Novitiate Mary Robert played by Ashley Pankow projects appropriate earnestness and absolute devotion while waiting for her calling. The choir's success attracts the attention of the local newspaper.

Curtis's three stooges TJ (Steven Eubank), Joey (Justin Baron), and Pablo (Tony Pulford) perform a delightful song and dance (Lady in the Long Black Dress) that put me in mind of the classic "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" from "Kiss Me Kate."

A bright Menken and Slater score does not disappoint. The libretto by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner transforms a good movie and into a better live musical. Attempted often, this doesn't happen all that frequently.

This entire show benefits from the excellent choreography of Jerry Jay Cranford. The set by James Misenheimer is three huge LED television screens supported by a limited number of set pieces including one on a radio-controlled platform similar to the Phantom's boat transporting Christine to his lair. Locations dissolve from one to another on with excellent projections by Nathan Scheuer. Scene changes are seamless while providing a variety of entrance and exit points. A supporting eight-piece band directed by Mark Ferrell is excellent. Costumes by Susan Oliver are impeccable.

This evening flies by with laugh-out-loud silliness. Of course, the bad guys get caught leading to the big finish... a performance for the visiting pope, the saving of the church, and preceded by a stand-up routine delivered by Father O'Hara (Allan Baker). "What do you call a sleeping walking nun? A roaming Catholic."

"Sister Act" is a show with which you can share "communion" without having to "confess" to anyone. You won't find a superior production even in New York. "Sister Act" continues through July 8. Tickets are available online at www.newtheatre.com or by telephone at 913-649-SHOW.

Photos courtesy of New Theatre Restaurant