Review: SISTER ACT at Gdynia Musical Theater

All premieres in Gdynia are spectacular; the biggest Polish music theatre has spoiled us with big shows full of razzle-dazzle. This time they did the same to open the season, and what else can I say except: I love when it shines and boogies.

This optimistic, Hollywood-flavored story follows a singer dreaming of a big career who, after witnessing something she shouldn’t have, finds herself hiding from her mafia boyfriend in a convent. Reluctantly at first, she becomes part of the community and transforms it with soul and disco flavor. Faith mixes with the pursuit of happiness and love, delivering the happiest of endings.

We don’t often get this kind of story on a big stage. Not complicated, joyful, and you know what? It still works. And nuns singing in sequin habits are something we absolutely need.

The cast works like a well-oiled disco machine. Karolina Trębacz as Deloris Van Cartier showcases not only her powerhouse voice but also a comic side that suits her perfectly. Alicja Piotrowska as Mother Superior is exactly the difficult kind of stubborn you don’t want to meet at Sunday dinner. Ewa Walczak as Sister Mary Patrick brings a gloriously nerdy vibe, Julia Duchniewicz as Sister Mary Robert adds a layer of vulnerability, while Magdalena Smuk as Sister Lazarus spices everything up with roughness and unpredictability. Sweaty Eddie by Szymon Reszka is the kind of good guy you root for without quite knowing why, while Jackson Curtis by Sebastian Wisłocki is the kind of bad guy who makes you grateful for locked doors and good lighting.

But the real diamonds is the mafia trio of Maciej Podgórzak as Joey, Mateusz Sawiel as Pablo, and Artur Drobnik as TJ. Three men, three completely different energies, one perfectly calibrated visual chaos. Podgórzak arrives with a haircut so aggressively 90s it deserves its own billing. Sawiel moves like a spider who just came back from holidays in Cuba, all Latin heat and unexpected angles. And Drobnik completes the picture with the kind of charisma that makes you forget everything else on stage; he has comic timing, charm, and the voice of an angel. He’s my revelation of this show, without a shadow of a doubt.

The whole production is in very good hands. Choreography by Karolina Garbacik tells the story through movement. Lighting design by Bartosz Zalas builds the atmosphere from the ground up. Set design by Wojciech Stefaniak delivers changing scenes, impressive structures, and plenty of sparkle. And costumes by Magdalena Gajewska are evolving beautifully with every twist of the story and tie it all together like the best possible bow on the best possible package. Director Paweł Aigner makes sure every element lands exactly where it should, on a plate that is as beautiful as it is generous.

This show will not change your life or bring you catharsis. It will sway your hips, move your feet, and bring a smile to your face, and it will do all of that with grace, elegance, and energy. My favorite moment was the bandit trio hilariously plotting their seduction plan, so lost in their own movements and timing that I want to replay it on a loop. There is one small scratch on this otherwise perfect record: the final attack in a coven felt a little jerky and choppy. But honestly? When the rest of the evening is this joyful, this shiny, this gloriously sequined, you forgive and… you boogie.

Turns out nuns in sequins are the answer. I don’t know what the question was, but the answer is nuns in sequins.

Photo: Laura Borkowska

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