Hit musical as uplifting as movie
Bill and Cherie Steinkellner’s habit-hustling musical returned to Manchester as part of its 2017 tour, directed by Craig Revel Horwood.
The show – which returns to the North West at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens from August 22 to 27 – is just as uplifting a “divine musical” as its film – yet a toe-tapping, hip-wiggling night out for all and refreshing twist with a hint of nostalgia.
Alexandra Burke plays a convincing Deloris Van Cartier, the swaggering sister-in-disguise who whips up St. Katherine’s parish choir into a musical phenomenon worthy of singing for the pope.
Burke’s portrayal of gun moll Deloris is hilarious, building on the X Factor 2008 winner’s incredible vocal talents.
Her voice has the strength to completely hush the audience so much so that minutes into the show, all thoughts of Whoopi Goldberg vanish, to the point it’s hard imagining another actor playing the ballsy ‘Lady Fabulous’.
Another gripping character is Susan Mann’s Mother Superior whose portrayal of the rigid chief-nun proves a real match for her nemesis Von Cartier early in the musical. Her hard-faced persona never becomes mundane or unlikable, but kindles an empathy from the audience.
Director Craig Revel Horwood resists the urge to let his personality take over the show and not even a ‘dahling’ can be heard. Yet the show’s glitz, sparkles and extra surprise at the end really reflect the extravagance of its director.
Aside from Burke – the loud, flamboyant protagonist – a painfully shy Sister Mary Robert, as played by Alice Stokoe, is a near show-stealer.
The mousy postulant and youngest member of the convent is almost cringe-inducing in her shyness in the first half of the show, but as Deloris starts to lead the choir, her suppressed sass is liberated in one of the show’s most comical scenes, where she visits a neighbouring bar with Deloris and the hilarious Sister Mary Patrick, played by Susannah Van Den Berg.
Everything has gone into Sister Act’s latest tour to keep it new, refreshing and as addictive as ever, meaning that despite it running for more than a decade, it might as well have just premiered.
