Photos credit: Mike Hardy
Nuns take Center Stage in Long Beach Playhouse's Vivacious 'Sister Act'
by Anita W. Harris, Senior Writer
Signal Tribune
October 27, 2021
Some habits are hard to break. But in Long Beach Playhouse's "Sister Act," continuing through Nov. 20, nuns in habits even breakdance as they sing. Based on the 1992 film of the same name, this version is set in 1978 with completely different music and a slightly revised storyline. Deloris Van Cartier is still a flashy nightclub singer hiding out as a nun in a convent, but it's the sisters who take center stage in this vibrant show.
"Sister Act" is a glitzy and ambitious production, with a 21-member cast directed by Rovin Jay and seven-member orchestra directed by Stephen Olear, all on LBPH's downstairs Mainstage Theatre. And they pull it off, though with some nervousness on opening night and an occasional sound glitch. As the actors and crew settle into the production, they'll no doubt let loose the whirlwind of talented performers they are.
Natasha Reese as Deloris owns the part, staying grounded in her character's tough South Philly exterior and desire for stardom while learning to care about those around her, especially her fellow sisters. Her singing of the 1970's disco-inspired songs like "Take Me to Heaven" (music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater) is "Fabulous, Baby!" as another one is titled.
Reese also wears well Deloris's favored tight-fitting leopard prints and fuchsia boots. Costumer Christina Bayer seems to have had fun dressing the whole cast with a 1978 vibe of flared pants, polyester and large lapels. And she orchestrates a magical instant costume change for Afro-haired cop "Sweaty" Eddie, played by James Webb, who steals the audience's heart with his smooth lamentation, "I Could Be That Guy," about being cool enough for Deloris.
The rest of the cast is equally invested and skilled in singing, acting and very fitting and fun choreography (Sonya Randall, assisted by Ebony Lane't). Nearly every main character is a standout. Megan Cherry makes a superior Mother Superior, with heartfelt songs like "Here Within These Walls" and frequent, often humorous, conversations with God as she grapples with Deloris's disruptive presence in the convent.
Steven Biggs makes a steady Monsignor O'Hara, who keeps his eye on the bigger picture but easily and hilariously slides into the new "Sunday Morning Fever" vibe Deloris brings to his services (devout Catholics beware).
Tree Henson makes an animated Sister Mary (Lazarus), leader of the nun's choir, at one point breaking into the Sugarhill Gang's nascent "Rapper's Delight." And Erica Cruz as the young and shy Sister Mary Robert belts high notes convincingly while melting our hearts with "The Life I Never Led."
William L. Warren is warm yet believe as Curtis, Deloris's slick boyfriend who wants to kill her, singing the ominous "When I Find My Baby" smoothly and deeply. But it's his three henchmen - Demitri Mack as nephew TJ, David Ponce' as Joey and Dimitri Tiatia-Guraud as Pablo - who absolutely own playing to the audience, especially their suave singing and choreography for the decidedly irreverent "Lady in the Long Black Dress," about how to seduce nuns.
Though each scene is well staged, the production is most dynamic whenever the ensemble of nuns takes the stage, from spoofs like "It's Good to Be a Nun" to the inspiring "Raise Your Voice." Their spirit makes believable Deloris's growing realization that her sisters mean more to her than the spotlight of fame which may be a lonely place without their camaraderie. It's a buoyant female-centric message of love and survival under the sparkling light of a disco ball.
REVIEW: "SISTER ACT" - LONG BEACH PLAYHOUSE
by Chris Daniels
Arts & Entertainment Reviewer
The Show Report
October 30, 2021
When the wimples start quivering, the pinched mouths break into sunbeam smiles, and the nuns start rocking to raise the Gothic rafters, all seems to be right in the kingdom of musical comedy at "Sister Act."
But who can resist the vision of a stage full of saintly sisters flaring their gams in unison like the Rockettes, or swiveling their hips, Supremes style, to the silken beat of an R&B tune? Presumably nobody in the audience at the Long Beach playhouse, where this latest stage adaptation of the hit movie, directed by Rovin Jay ("Hair," "Flight"), is taking audience members to heaven through November 20th on their mainstage.
Yes, those singing shtickmeisters from the Church of Philly Soul with their jubilant choral numbers are giving invigorating inspiration as we scoot on into the holiday season. Based on the movie starring Whoopi Goldberg as a club singer forced to smother her sequined soul beneath a nun's habit after she witnesses a murder, "Sister Act" has been seen in several previous incarnations, most successfully in London. And this reworked version features a seasoning of new gags supplied by the gifted comic playwright Douglas Carter Beane ("The Little Dog Laughed," "Xanadu").
As adapted by the book writers, Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, and scored by Alan Menken (music) and Glenn Slater (lyrics), this sentimental story of a bad girl showing the good sister how to get down earned five Tony nominations, including nods for best musical, best score and best book. It had the misfortune of competing against the juggernaut "The Book of Mormon" at the time.
The show's premise follows the basic template of Joseph Howard's screenplay. Original fish-out-of-water Deloris Van Cartier is a Philly disco disco diva lounge singer who witnesses her gangster boyfriend Curtis and his henchmen ice one of his goons, and goes on the lam when the bullets start flying her way. To protect her from being killed by the gang, Deloris goes incognito under witness protection in a convent where she has to adjust to life as Sister Mary Clarence, and takes charge of the convent choir. Ironically, Eddie (James F. Webb III, "The Wiz"), the policeman assigned to guard her, has had a crush on her since high school, opening the door to romance.
Natasha Reese ("Into the Woods"), making her debut at Long Beach Playhouse in a big way, has a radiant presence and a strong voice with a tangy timbre. As Deloris Van Cartier, she truly comes into her own when Deloris sheds her purse full of wisecracks and begins bonding with the friendly nuns cowed by the church's stern mother superior, played by Megan Cherry (Int'l Tour: "West Side Story").
For even when Deloris is shimmying in a leopard miniskirt in the show's opening number, Ms. Reese somehow exudes sweetness and sincerity, and you immediately relate to her. This makes the heroine's transition from sassy sinner to sympathetic musical instructor all the more believable. And when she is slashing away at the sky with her arms, reaching for heavenly endorsement as she exhorts her flock of gawky nuns to shed their inhibitions and let the spirit put their hips in motion, Ms. Reese is a delight to watch ("Raise Your Voice," "Take Me to Heaven").
Interestingly, the creative team has bumped the story back in time, shifting the action from present-day Reno/San Francisco to 1970s Philadelphia. And while Goldberg's Deloris favored Motown, Ms. Reese's is all about that sweet Philly soul sound, with a big dose of disco ("Fabulous Baby," "Sister Act").
And Ms. Cherry has a lot of vocal heft under that habit, too, whose role in other productions has consisted mainly of looking on disapprovingly as Deloris charms the nuns into rebelling against the mother superior's strictures.
But with Director Jay setting the scenes here, Ms. Cherry gives a rewardingly human-scaled performance with some powerful vocals ("Here Within These Walls," "I Haven't Got a Prayer").
Deloris's converts to the cause are played with genial comic finesse by Alana Ruhe ("The Little Mermaid") as the jolly Sister Mary Patrick; Erika Cruz ("Evita") as the sweetly mousy postulant Mary Robert; and the particularly funny Tree Henson (The Gourmet Detective Dinner Theater ) as the puckered-up, sarcastic Sister Mary Lazarus.
Composer Alan Menken, who wrote the lustrous period-pop score for "Little Shop of Horrors," teams again with lyricist Glenn Slater (his collaborator on the stage version of The Little Mermaid) to cook up a tuneful original score of lush funk grooves, entrusted to a cast of strong singers. The male roles are expanded via songs like Mr. Webb's "I Could Be that Guy" or Mr. Warren's "When I Find My Baby," that evoke the O'Jays, The Spinners, The Stylistics and Lou Rawls, while the girls channel The Three Degrees, Patti LaBelle and - stepping beyond Philly city limits in style - Donna Summer.
Stephen Olear's orchestrations time-travel amusingly back to the period while choreographer Sonya L. Randall's Soul Train-meets-hip-hop moves are a little more lax about the '70s mandate. And here also, dutiful versions of musical-theater sacraments are supplied, along with plenty of climactic soul-baring ballads for Mr. Warren, Mr. Webb, Ms. Reese, Ms. Cruz, and even the mother superior herself, Ms. Cherry.
In the second act, the musical catches fire, the walls pulsate like a dance floor under hot lights, and the nuns give voice to their discovery that piety does not necessarily preclude an indulgence in vocal pyrotechnics and synchronized dance routines. And when these holy-rolling roof-raisers break out into their rousing gospel numbers, which grow more lavish as the evening proceeds, the church is transmogrified into a loose reproduction of the old Limelight, a Manhattan nightclub that was housed in a former church in the 1980s.
The Fantastic supporting cast includes Stephen Biggs ("The Lion in Winter") as Monsignor O'Hara, Demetri Mack (BFA-American Musical & Dramatic Academy) as TJ, David Ponce' ("Into the Woods") as Joey, Dimitri Tiatia-Garaud ("Hamlet") as Pablo, Agnes Chan (Held2gether Improv) as Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours, Sally Cavanagh (Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Clown Clg.) as Sister Mary Theresa, Jessica Bill ("The Tempest") as Michelle and Ensemble, Kylie Buckels-Hall ("Sister Act") as Tina and Ensemble, Avi Spitzer ("Beauty and the Beast" as Ernie and Ensemble, Staysha Torrez ("Hair") as Swing for Deloris and Ensemble, Cisco De Luca ("Nineteen Years Later") as Male Swing and Ensemble, Amanda Smith ("A Wall Apart") as Dancer and Ensemble, Brett Popiel ("Footloose") as Dancer and Ensemble, and Peyton Turowski ("Guys and Dolls") as Dancer and Ensemble.
Directed by Rovin Jay, Choreography is by Sonya L. Randall, Stage Manager/Prop Master is Megan Bates, Set Design is Greg Fritsche, Lighting Design is by Szu-Yun Wang, Sound Design is by Andrew Wilcox, Costume Design is by Christina Bayer. Madison Mooney is Executive Director, Sean Gray is Producing Artistic Director. Orchestra includes (Musical Director), Jeff Fish, Nick Shewchuk, Jerry Barba, Iggi El Kouatli, Willow Mercury Ardelean and John Vann.
LONG BEACH PLAYHOUSE OFFERS HEAVENLY SOUNDS WITH "SISTER ACT, THE MUSICAL"
Adaption fits with small stage, big voices
by Harry Saltzgaver
Grunion Gazette
November 2, 2021
This isn't Whoopi Goldberg's "Sister Act."
Or then again, maybe it is. Long Beach Playhouse's Mainstage is hosting "Sister Act, The Musical," a theatrical adaptation of the hit 1992 movie.
This whole let's turn a play into a movie thing has the advantage of a built-in audience, but has the high hurdle of combining all the action to a small stage - even if it's a Broadway stage. Trust me, the Playhouse's stage is a touch smaller than those found on Broadway.
You say that isn't enough challenge? Okay, let's take the iconic soundtrack of the movie and chuck it into the trash. In this case, that loses "Oh Happy Day" and "I Will Follow Him" among other universally-known songs.
Which makes the work of director Rovin Jay and his 21-person cast (including a whole flock of nuns) all the more admirable. A fair-to-middling composer, Alan Menken, provided the music for the stage version, so there's still some more than decent material to work with.
The basic plot remains the same - showgirl sees mobster boyfriend murder someone, hides in nunnery, transforms the church by dragging it into the present, gets discovered, nuns protect here, the church and Deloris both get saved. The high school kids are gone, but the flock of nuns soar with a little lesson in harmony.
Speaking of work, Natasha Reese more than earns her pay as the Whoopi Goldberg character, Deloris aka Sister Mary Clarence. She's the centerpiece of more than half of the 20 or more songs in the two0hour play, and is only offstage long enough to change costumes.
And Reese is more than up to the task. At least on opening night, her voice never faded and her smile - or grimace, depending on the moment - remained bright.
The Mother Superior (Megan Cherry) is outclassed from the get-go by Deloris. But Cherry stood her ground throughout, and her exasperation provided some of the great "look what she's doing" moments. Her discussions with God were impressive as well.
Steven Biggs steals more than one scene as the Monsignor O'Hara, a man of the cloth hiding a rocker inside. And almost all of the flock of nuns managed to find a moment or two to show their individual sides. (Erika Cruz) filled the scared novitiate finding herself under Deloris's wing role with a winning clutziness.
You might not leave the theater humming "I Will Follow Him," but you will leave with a smile on your face. That's a good way to leave any Playhouse.