Review: Hale Centre Theatre’s SISTER ACT is Sacred Yet Secular Fun

SISTER ACT on Hale Centre Theatre’s Centre Stage in Sandy is a top-tier production of the Utah favorite.

SISTER ACT (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional material by Douglas Carter Beane) is based on the popular 1992 film. When aspiring club singer Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a crime, she must go into hiding at an abbey before she can testify against its perpetrators. While there, she teaches the convent choir to sing and adds secular pizazz to the sacred numbers, mortifying the Mother Superior but delighting the masses.

Mack truly sizzles as Deloris (double cast with McKenna Kay Jensen), Amanda Crabb is a heartfelt Mother Superior (double cast with Michelle Blake), and Makenna Ashby is filled with joy as Sister Mary Roberts (double cast with Dakota Clement).  The rest of the supporting cast, including several male roles along with the nun sisterhood, is quite solid with many noteworthy moments across the board.

1970s Philadelphia comes to life via retro carpeted spaces and groovy costumes to match, while the church is another world of rainbow-hued stained glass and flying arches. The two come together with bedazzled performance wear for the nuns that sparkles with plain fun.  Kudos to the production team of Dave Tinney (direction), Rob Moffat (music direction), Lindsey D. Smith (choreography), along with designers Nate Bertone (set), Joy Zhu (costumes), Marianne Ohran (lighting), Madeline Ashton (video/projections), Danna Barney/Ryan Simmons (props/dressing), and Krissa Lent (hair/makeup).

The best number in the show, “Fabulous, Baby! (Reprise)” has been elevated even beyond its usual greatness as it seamlessly transitions from a grounded internal moment in an apartment to a fuchsia fantasy and back again, showcasing in one song the best strengths of the production, from its raw, spiritual emotion to its heightened disco-charged revelry. 

SISTER ACT plays through October 25, 2025. For tickets, call the box office at 801-984-9000 or visit www.hct.org.