‘Sister Act’ transcends thin plot with heavenly vocal performances
Short North Stage’s “Sister Act” transcends a rickety plot with the aid of some strong vocal performances and likable tributes to sisterhood and the power of music.
The musical, with music by Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast”) and lyrics by Glenn Slater (“School of Rock”), has been directed with a light, affectionate touch by Edward Carignan.
It changes the setting, and, thankfully, reduces some of the busy plot of the popular 1992 Whoopi Goldberg film, moving the story to Philadelphia in 1977 and 1978, which allows for some playful disco songs, costumes and choreography, as well as some R&B numbers.
The musical follows ambitious night club singer Deloris Van Cartier (Amber Knicole, lead singer of Mojoflo), who witnesses her thuggish gangster boyfriend Curtis (Dante Banks Murray) kill an associate he believes has ratted on him.
With the help of “Sweaty Eddie” (Joshua Walker), a police officer who had a crush on Deloris in high school, the singer hides away in a convent attached to a church that is failing financially. Though the stern Mother Superior (Chrissy T) is appalled by Deloris’s antics, the others nuns are charmed by her, as she takes over and transforms the choir, turning it into a musical powerhouse with numbers that tread a thin line between secular and sacred, and attract huge, coffer-filling audiences.
Knicole has the musical chops and star power to carry the show, but this is hardly a one-woman show. Chrissy T is
more than her match, fleshing out what might be a one-note role into a sympathetic one, and the chemistry between Mother Superior and her errant guests grounds the show.
Murray is an intimidating villain, never going for easy laughs, and Walker has a surprising sly charm, especially in numbers such as “I Could Be That Guy,” where he transforms easily from anxious sadsack to slick charmer – and then back again. Three of Curtis’ henchmen (Jordan Stocksdale, Daniel Lopez and Carter Minor) make the most of the comic possibilities of “Lady in the Long Black Dress,” in which they brag about their (disputable) romantic savvy.
The many nuns are nicely differentiated, and a large and competent ensemble fills the stage and makes for a festive atmosphere.
While the spaces to be filled between the songs are dominated by lackluster jokes and overly extended chase scenes, the musical numbers, fortunately, dominate.
Dionysia Williams’ amusing, lighthearted choreography, along with whimsical costumes provided by Bottari and Case, make for a nostalgic experience, and musical director Que Jones brings out the best both in a six-piece orchestra, concealed backstage, and in the performers.
A possibly unnecessarily intricate set created some technical difficulties on Thursday night’s preview performance.
Though “Sister Act” is basically a paint-by-numbers musical, with the thinnest of character development and with songs that hit all the required bases and that are often repeated several times where different ones might have been appreciated, the Short North Stage production powers through those limitations to a crowd-pleasing finish.
Under Carignan’s sensitive direction, the characters find the humanity, and the human comedy, in even the least developed and most stereotypical characters, for a genuinely sweet and uplifting production.
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