A sister’s right to shoes

OUR LEAD CHARACTERS are in deep trouble, and it takes very unusual teams to rescue our hapless heroes.

One team is in saintly garb, and the other in scintillating drag.

A couple of characters deal with father- son issues, others deal with the Heavenly Father and His rules.

A congregation is saved by the soul of a black nightclub disco diva named Deloris, while a community is transformed by the sole of a showgirl, or perhaps ladyboy, named Lola.

SAME THEME, DIFFERENT MUSICALS

Sounds like the same musical is showing at two different venues, at Solaire and RCBC. Or rather, two musicals with the same theme, different embellishments. Both are based on films: one an American box office smash comedy, and the other a British underthe-radar dramedy.

Sister Act, a touring production brought in by Ovation Productions in partnership with international theater distributors Troika Entertainment and Broadway Entertainment Group, is a joyous celebration of self-expression and sisterhood, with exultant music by Disney stalwart Alan Mencken ( Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast,

Aladdin) and hilariously witty lyrics by Glenn Slater ( Tangled).

Kinky Boots, produced by Atlantis Theatricals Entertainment Group, is a glorious celebration too of the right to choose and the right to shoes (credit to Sex and

the City for that catchy turn of phrase!), with music and lyrics by our ’80s icon who liberated girls all over the world who just wanted to have fun, Cyndi Lauper.

Here lies the key difference. The lead of Sister Act didn’t quite have the livewire jolt required by the role. But Kinky Boots had a lead whose grit, grace, and vulnerability made his boot take wing and soar.

GIRL IN TROUBLE

Sister Act begins with Deloris van Cartier (Dené Hill trained in opera, and an off-Broadway and tour performer), a worldly nightclub singer ready for the big time. She accidentally witnesses her thug boyfriend Curtis (Brandon Godfrey) and his three accomplices shoot dead a wayward business partner. She runs away and they chase her. She goes to the police to report the crime and recognizes the desk cop Eddie (Will T. Travis), who had a crush on Deloris in school. He helps her by arranging to have her hide in the one place that Curtis and his cohorts would never think to find her — a convent.

Deloris then doffs her kinky boots (yes she actually does have a pair!), gets into a habit, and becomes Sister Mary Clarence. Mother Superior (the full-voiced Rebecca Mason-Wygal) presents Deloris to the congregation. When meeting the young Sister Mary Robert (Sophie Kim) who introduces herself as a postulant, Deloris sympathetically responds, “Well I used to be low on cash myself, but I never turned to that!”

And that marks the start of the disorder at The Holy Order of the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith. Deloris-as-Mary Clarence sweeps in bombastically, wants to accessorize her habit, and listens with growing horror as Mother Superior recites the litany of restrictions while she resides at the convent. She paraphrases Biblical verses (“Let he who is without sin be first to be stoned!”). The favorite scene on film and on stage, where Deloris improves the blessing for the meal, is belly-aching funny, and never gets old. (“Our Father, Howard be thy name!”)

TAKE ME TO CHURCH

Because of her musical talent, Deloris is assigned by Mother Superior to tune the discordant resident choir into shape. She transforms the choir and gets them to sing rousing praises for the Lord, in pop, disco and bluesy genres. The choir gains popularity as more and more people come to Sunday mass to listen, and donate to the church. The sister act becomes more of a Vegas show as the choir becomes Deloris-like, with less dolor. And the church is saved. And so are the nuns, moved by Deloris’ passion and love for life.

Ms. Hill seemed to be more comfortable as a sister rather than as Deloris. The first act took a while to find its rhythm, with a rather weak and innocuous Mr. Godfrey as the villain. Deloris’ vibrant personality needed to be established right from the getgo, but the frail rendition of the opening number “Take me to Heaven” was precariously about to leave the impression that the production team should have taken more time to find the right Deloris for the touring company. It took a year’s search to find the great Patina Miller who originated the role on West End and Broadway. Ms. Hill was more refined than robust.

But half- way through the first act, the audience warmed up to Ms. Hill, and the energy she whipped up with her singing nuns in “Raise your Voice” was marvelous. And musically, the arrangement of that number, deceptively simple, was terrific.

DIVERSE ACT

Truly, the nuns carried this show. Ms. Mason-Wygal brought appropriate disdain-stained gravitas to her Mother Superior, and her pained “Haven’t got a Prayer” was heartfelt. The oddball holy crew — the space cadet pianist, a hardball choirmaster, the eternal optimist, the quiet and timid novice, and a host of other characters in the ensemble — bloomed in confidence from one number to the next. These actors

Sister Act

International Tour 2017 June 29-July 2 The Theatre at Solaire, Solaire Resort & Casino, 1 Aseana Ave., Entertainment City, Parañaque City

Kinky Boots

Atlantis Theatricals Entertainment Group June 30-July 23, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. cor. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City brought the house down as they raised their arms in generous performance, delightful in their fittingly awkward choreography.

Special mention must be made to the fact that an Asian, Sophie Kim, was cast as the timid Sister Mary Robert in this touring production. She truly found her voice in the inspired “The Life I Never Led.” Her Koreanaccented English added a most welcome diversity to the cast. In fact, the beauty of Sister Act as a production is that it allows to have on board actors with a wide age range and a variety of body types and ethnicities.

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TEASING SACRILEGE

Mr. Slater’s lyrics tease at the sacrilegious with comedy as his shield. The sisters unwittingly poke irreverent fun at the nun’s sense of loyalty to the life of the religious in the innocent “It’s Good to be a Nun.” This is Agnes of God on some happy drug! Curtis’ oafish sidekicks were hilarious as they sang the creepy “Lady in the Long Black Dress,” which essentially is about how to seduce (shudder), no, entice the nuns to let them into the convent as they look for Deloris: “Hey lady in the long black dress, let’s sneak away and go transgress. Hey lady why not take a chance? Come on, proud Mary, meet your missionary of romance!” Eeew. Look it up, it gets worse.

More wayward lyrics are to be found in “When I Find My Baby,” sung by the violent Curtis. It’s a love song devolved into a hunter’s song. Yes folks, just like the true meaning of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” Stalker, not love, song.

The production numbers layered on the lamé and sequins on the nuns’ habits gradually, which was a nice touch. A towering Mother Mary figure in full glitter almost stole the show at the finale. The church set and the changing hues created the right air of tranquility, contrasted with Deloris’ reverie as she fantasizes being a disco queen in her reprise of “Fabulous Baby.”

In the end, the audience was on their feet, cheering on these sisters spreading the love around.

SOLE SHOW

But in all honesty, if you have limited time and budget and had to choose one or the other, Kinky

Boots would have to be it. You’ll be on your feet too, but you will also carry with you the lasting impression of an actor who dives so deep into his role, embraces it, imbibes it, and presents it to the audience in the most vulnerable way. Nyoy Volante was already a powerhouse in Jersey Boys. But as Lola, the drag queen who saves a shoe