A HOLY HOOT
Woman hides from mob in convent by posing as a nun in ‘Sister Act’
Aspiring singer Deloris Van Cartier stumbles in on her mobster boyfriend as he whacks a crony.
She races to the police, who agree to hide her in a convent if she agrees to testify against her former lover.
The Albuquerque Little Theatre will corral 17 nuns and at least one mobster to Motown-meets-gospel when “Sister Act” opens Thursday.
“This is the New Mexico premiere; the rights were just released,” ALT director Henry Avery said.
Based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg , the musical stars April Ball as Deloris (aka Sister Mary Clarence), the would-be singer who dons a nun’s habit to escape the mob. Ball starred in the ALT production of “Aida” in 2007-08.
In this classic fish-out-of-water tale, Deloris chafes against the constraints of living in a nunnery and the immovable Reverend Mother (Shelly Andes).
The head nun banishes Deloris to the choir after she catches the singer sneaking into a bar. Their singing is ear-shattering, but Deloris soon arranges the group into a tuneful ensemble.
“Of course, she changes, too, and they both learn from each other,” Avery said.
The musical takes place in 1977-78. Half the nuns in the cast have never performed before.
“The steps are all ‘This is the Supremes’; ‘This is John Travolta’; ‘This is disco’;” Avery said.
“It’s a lot of choreography for these women,” he continued. “I told them, ‘Look, you’re all getting a free aerobics class every night.’ I think the oldest one is in her 70s.”