BWW Reviews: SISTER ACT is Truly Fabulous, Baby!

In all honesty, I was dreading seeing Broadway Across America - Houston's presentation of SISTER ACT's First National Tour at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts last night. As a fan of Alan Menken, I was elated to get my hands on a copy of the Original London Cast Recording in 2009. After giving the disc a whirl, I was anything but impressed. The musical ran at the London Palladium from June 2, 2009 to October 30, 2010. As it journeyed across the pond, the book was significantly reworked by Douglas Carter Beane for its rather successful April 20, 2011 to August 26, 2012 Broadway run at the Broadway Theatre. Between London, New York, and Houston, magic has definitely happened. The show, as it stands now, is a divinely delightful comedy that will leave audiences pumped and gushing about how truly fabulous it is.

The musical is a fairly close adaptation of the film. The most notable changes are in the setting. The story has been moved from San Francisco to Philadelphia and from the 1990s to what appears to be the late 1970s/early 1980s because of costuming choices and references to Pope John Paul II whose Papacy began in October 1978. In the musical, Deloris Van Cartier auditions to perform in her gangster boyfriend's club on Christmas Eve. As she leaves the club, she witnesses him commit murder. She reports the crime to the Philadelphia Police. The officer who takes her report recognizes her as his high school crush and chooses to hide her where no one would look to find her-a convent.

Direction by Jerry Zaks is effervescing and full of energy. He easily moves the audience through fits of uproarious laughter and some poignantly touching, tear inducing moments in the second act as well. He conveys all of the wondrous wit in the dialogue and lyrics, guaranteeing that the puns, plays on words, and double entendres earn everything from smirks to vocalized responses from the audience. Jerry Zaks coaches his cast to beguile, warm our hearts, and lift us up.

Choreography by Anthony Van Laast is excitingly eye-catching. He infuses the movements with a lot of thoughtful sightlines and cute sight gags. Every movement is perfectly timed to the music, and many are hilarious as well.

Brent-Alan Huffman's Music Direction is crisp and clear. His cast enunciates well and dazzlingly leaps from pitch to pitch with precision. Likewise, he is tangibly ebullient as he conducts his capable and talented band. The band plays each song and underscore with impressive skill and liveliness.

Starring as Deloris Van Cartier, Ta'Rea Campbell is phenomenal. She wins our hearts over with her first rendition of "Take Me to Heaven," and leaves the audience rooting for her all the way to her perfectly costumed final bow. Ta'Rea imbues her performance with dazzlingly and electrifying soul, selling numbers like "Fabulous, Baby!" all the way to the stratosphere. She immaculately and stirringly emotes on the introspective and lush "Sister Act" as well. Ta'Rea Campbell owns the stage for the entire performance and brings resoundingly brilliant and fierce life to her decidedly fun and brassy role.

Hollis Resnik, as the Mother Superior, is the ideal foil to Ta'Rea Campbell's Deloris. She expertly brings the house down with booming guffaws as their worldviews clash time and time again. Moreover, her voice is purely radiant on "Here Within These Walls" and her touching yet funny solo "Haven't Got a Prayer."

Deloris' romantic interest, Eddie "Sweaty Eddie" Souther, is exceptionally acted and sung by E. Clayton Cornelious. He quickly charms the audience, and we root for him to get the girl. His rendition of "I Could Be That Guy" is an extraordinary powerhouse performance with some dazzling costume trickery mixed in as well.

Kingsley Leggs' Curtis Jackson, Deloris' gangster boyfriend, is wonderfully despicable. He skillfully moves the audience to laughter with his marvelously Motown inspired and viciously worded performance in "When I Find My Baby." The audience gets the biggest kick out of loving to hate his sordid character.

Timid Sister Mary Robert Is pristinely played and sung by Lael Van Keuren. She put amazing amounts of sweet tenderness into her performance of "The Life I Never Had" and showcased incredible strength in "The Life I Never Had (Reprise)."

Todd A. Horman, Ernie Pruneda, and Charles Barksdale terrifically portray Curtis' zany trio of thugs, Joey, Pablo, and TJ. Together, the three constantly leave the audience rolling with laughter. Moreover, their performances on "Lady in the Long Black Dress" left the audience spellbound, howling with laughter, and cheering. They constantly spoof Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, earning innumerable peals of laughter.

Following in the footsteps of Kathy Najimy, Florrie Bagel's Sister Mary Patrick is charming, mirthful, and memorable. Her wacky facial expressions and stilted dancing consistently moves, beguiles, and bedazzles the audience. Florrie Bagel adeptly leaves smiles on our faces while warming our hearts and souls.

The rest of the cast also does spectacular jobs with their assigned roles. It is clear that the cast is having the time of their lives performing for us, which makes the performances all the more entertaining and enjoyable. Every pitch is powerfully and flawlessly found, every movement is consummately placed in time, and every line is delivered for optimum effect. Every member of the cast admirably brings resplendent life and energy to their performances.

Scenic Design by Klara Zieglerova is simply fantastic. It appears simple, but in actuality is a rather complex design because of its many moving parts. The use of unembellished bricks for a majority of the scenes helps with speedy transitions and reminding us of the squalor-ridden areas of Philadelphia that many of the scenes take place in.

Lighting Design by Natasha Katz is dizzyingly gorgeous and bright. She uses hues of pinks, purples, reds, and blues to add to the emotional atmosphere created by the set, music, direction, and writing. With the exception of muted lighting for "Sister Act," the design is vibrant and always dazzling, keeping energy high and emotions soaring throughout the show.

Costume Design by Lez Brotherston is magnificent. The use of color is superb, and really aids in the visual aspects of the show. The requisite amount of sequins and glitz is present in the design as well, and tastefully saved for when it will be its most affective. Lastly, the work done with costuming for the "I Could Be That Guy" is surprising and brilliant.

Sound Design by Ken Travis is great as well. It grandly fills the large Sarofim Hall with pulsating and vivacious life. There were a few microphone pops that occurred throughout the night, implying a receiver may have been malfunctioning. Even with that minor setback, the audience's enjoyment of the show was not compromised.

In short, Broadway Across America - Houston's presentation of SISTER ACT at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is truly fabulous, baby! The divinely comedic show is pure fluff, but it vastly entertains and enthralls from opening to close. Trust me, you'll love escaping into the world of Deloris Van Cartier and getting lost in the glitzy and glamorous production.

SISTER ACT runs at Sarofim Hall through June 2, 2013. For more information or ticket, please visit http://houston.broadway.com or call (800) 952 - 6560.

All photos by Joan Marcus. Courtesy of Broadway Across America - Houston.

Ta'Rea Campbell, Alysha Deslorieux, and Trisha Jeffrey.

Ta'Rea Campbell and Hollis Resnik.

Cast of SISTER ACT.

Cast of SISTER ACT.

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