I'm Fab-u-lous Baby!
My first one in a long time! I have had a very busy summer, and other than a second viewing of Rocky Horror, I have not been to the theatre since the trip to London, in which we saw Les Mis and In The Heights; but this has now been rectified, and the Autumn is looking to be stuffed full of goodies - starting with this, the Craig Revel-Horwood (last seen as Miss Hannigan in Annie) directed touring production of Sister Act.
Based on the 1992 film starring Whoppi Goldberg, the stage production had try-out runs in Pasadena, California and Atlanta, Georgia in 2006 before successful runs in the West End in 2009, and on Broadway in 2011, receiving 4 Olivier nominations and 5 Tony nominations respectively. As with the film, the show follows nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier, who is sent to a convent in hiding, after she witnesses a murder.
The score, written by Alan Menken (who wrote scores for Little Shop of Horrors and many many Disney films!) is incredibly infectious, and is guaranteed to get you to get you dancing in your seat on its own - it is a brilliant mix of classic MT and a few disco beats thrown in for good measure. In fact, Tom (who came with me) said it reminded him of Legally Blonde....
This is probably a good point to mention that this was an actor-musician production - well, mostly. The actors did indeed play musical instruments (including flute, violin and accordion) while singing, but they also had a pit-quartet in the wings, just to fill in the gaps. It may not have had the same ooomph and wow factor that Calamity Jane had, but it still was evident in how talented the cast was - as singing while playing is NOT as easy as it looks - and Sarah Travis' arrangements were still incredibly fun, Take Me To Heaven (Reprise) and Raise Your Voice being particular highlights.
On to the cast, and the person I have to mention first is Deloris herself, played by 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. I was a bit sceptical at first, but it seemed a good role on paper, after her critically acclaimed musical theatre in The Bodyguard; and after a bit of a weak start, she grew into it and became better and better. Her vocals were top notch for the soulful and diva moments and you could tell she was having a ball with it. The only shame was that some of her lines were drowned out a bit so you sometimes couldn't tell what she was saying...
Onto the two men of the show, Aaron Lee Lambert as Curtis could have maybe done with a touch more menace, but his voice is incredibly lush and smooth, particularly going low. As his opposite, Jon Robyns (aka, my new MT crush!) plays a completely adorkable "Sweaty Eddie", just like his last role, Legally Blonde's Emmet Forrest! Only one thing, and I am getting on my rant box, so bear with me. During Eddie's solo I Can Be That Guy (beautifully sung by Robyns by the way, this wasn't his fault at all), Eddie is surrounded by tramps in the street; now I can understand where they were going with this scene, but it really did take me out of the song and almost really spoilt it when after a few lines you heard one of the tramps "vomiting", so please take them out because there must be a better way to illustrate that! On a much nicer note, when it got to the "dream disco" bit (anyone who has seen it will know what I mean), was brilliant - and this leads me into saying that the effects with the disco ball, whenever it was brought on, were brilliant!
I think the final person I have to mention is Rosemary Ashe (the original Carlotta Giudicelli I hasten to add) as the HILARIOUS Sister Mary Lazarus - "Back in my day, we did a shot for every soul we saved!". I won't tell you when that comes, but it is definitely my favourite quote from the show! Plus if that happened during my CU Tea and Toast days back in uni, it would have certainly made them interesting....
Two more things to tell you before I log off, but just a little thing that hopefully won't throw you off - before the show started, as we took our seats, there were carols being played - I'm not even joking, but this is because the show has taken the Broadway plot, which is set during Christmas. In addition, if you know the West End cast recording (like me), there are a couple of the songs that aren't quite as you know them, as the Broadway version slightly differs...
All in all, I would say Sister Act is worth a watch, especially if you are looking for a good time and something will make you laugh. To be honest, just like the film, a bit predictable perhaps, but certainly one fun ride.
This is probably a good point to mention that this was an actor-musician production - well, mostly. The actors did indeed play musical instruments (including flute, violin and accordion) while singing, but they also had a pit-quartet in the wings, just to fill in the gaps. It may not have had the same ooomph and wow factor that Calamity Jane had, but it still was evident in how talented the cast was - as singing while playing is NOT as easy as it looks - and Sarah Travis' arrangements were still incredibly fun, Take Me To Heaven (Reprise) and Raise Your Voice being particular highlights.
On to the cast, and the person I have to mention first is Deloris herself, played by 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. I was a bit sceptical at first, but it seemed a good role on paper, after her critically acclaimed musical theatre in The Bodyguard; and after a bit of a weak start, she grew into it and became better and better. Her vocals were top notch for the soulful and diva moments and you could tell she was having a ball with it. The only shame was that some of her lines were drowned out a bit so you sometimes couldn't tell what she was saying...
Onto the two men of the show, Aaron Lee Lambert as Curtis could have maybe done with a touch more menace, but his voice is incredibly lush and smooth, particularly going low. As his opposite, Jon Robyns (aka, my new MT crush!) plays a completely adorkable "Sweaty Eddie", just like his last role, Legally Blonde's Emmet Forrest! Only one thing, and I am getting on my rant box, so bear with me. During Eddie's solo I Can Be That Guy (beautifully sung by Robyns by the way, this wasn't his fault at all), Eddie is surrounded by tramps in the street; now I can understand where they were going with this scene, but it really did take me out of the song and almost really spoilt it when after a few lines you heard one of the tramps "vomiting", so please take them out because there must be a better way to illustrate that! On a much nicer note, when it got to the "dream disco" bit (anyone who has seen it will know what I mean), was brilliant - and this leads me into saying that the effects with the disco ball, whenever it was brought on, were brilliant!
I think the final person I have to mention is Rosemary Ashe (the original Carlotta Giudicelli I hasten to add) as the HILARIOUS Sister Mary Lazarus - "Back in my day, we did a shot for every soul we saved!". I won't tell you when that comes, but it is definitely my favourite quote from the show! Plus if that happened during my CU Tea and Toast days back in uni, it would have certainly made them interesting....
Two more things to tell you before I log off, but just a little thing that hopefully won't throw you off - before the show started, as we took our seats, there were carols being played - I'm not even joking, but this is because the show has taken the Broadway plot, which is set during Christmas. In addition, if you know the West End cast recording (like me), there are a couple of the songs that aren't quite as you know them, as the Broadway version slightly differs...
All in all, I would say Sister Act is worth a watch, especially if you are looking for a good time and something will make you laugh. To be honest, just like the film, a bit predictable perhaps, but certainly one fun ride.
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