Review: Sister Act the Musical at Nottingham Theatre Royal
Sister Act the Musical opened at Theatre Royal Nottingham to heavenly applause with plenty of laughs, feel good music and more than enough glitter.
The stage show, based on the classic 1992 film of the same name, shares the same basic structure and story beats but is also packed with original music and a few changes to keep it interesting for fans of the orginal.
Set in Philidelphia in 1977, the show tells the story of a club singer Delores, who after witnessing a murder is forced into protective custody, to hide in the one place nobody would think to look a convent.
Here, disguised as a nun, she learns to embrace her new life and through her spectacular singing skills becomes an unlikely saviour to the church which has fallen into disrepair, with the threat of closure looming overhead.
The lead Former Emmerdale actress and experienced West End performer, Sandra Marvin played the lead role of Delores Van Cartier to perfection singing so powerfully the angels could surely hear her from heaven.
Lesley Joseph, perhaps best known for her role in Bird of a Feather, put her comedy skills to good use as the grouchy Mother Superior, making the audience howl with laughter and stealing the show on several occasions.
In a departure from the original film, the police detective and the gangsters out to get Delores were given enough room to shine on their own and provided some of the biggest laughs and surprises of the night.
For me the standout performance came from Clive Rowe as police detective Eddie Souther.
Clive played the quiet, yet caring policeman with such passion that when he unexpectedly stripped off into a outfit not disimilar to the one worn by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and began to dance around the stage surrounded by other bedazzled police officers, with disco ball helmets it was a genuine delight.
The gangsters provided the right balance of slapstick, camp and straight man as they attempted to hunt down Delores and again performed a particularly memorable routine which has to be seen to be believed.
The change to a 70s setting meant that everything was given a certain retro flair, with music from Tony and Oscar winner Alan Menken and songs inspired by Motown, soul and disco, to the stunningly colourful wardrobe with literal, well, flares.
Overall it was a fabulous and uplifting show, which will leave anyone with the biggest grin on their face and is perhaps the campest thing to even happen to the Catholic church, in the best way possible.
