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| Deloris (Leslie Ivy-Louthaman, left) leads the chorus of nuns in a joyful, upbeat song. |
A woman fleeing her married, murderous lover saves
not only herself but also the church where she takes refuge in the musical
comedy “Sister Act,” presented by Broadway By the Bay.
Deloris Van Cartier (Leslie Ivy-Louthaman)
inadvertently sees her boyfriend, nightclub owner Curtis Jackson (Montel
Anthony Nord), shoot and kill one of his henchmen.
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| Deloris (Leslie Ivy-Louthaman) goes to Eddie (David Blackburn) for help. |
She goes to a police officer friend from high school,
Eddie Souther (David Blackburn), who takes her to a nearby Catholic church. He persuades
its leaders, including Mother Superior (Heather Orth), to disguise her as one
of its nuns, calling her Sister Mary Clarence.
It’s culture shock for this black disco singer to
blend in with a group of white nuns, but they accept her. She’s asked to attend
their choir practice and is appalled to hear how bad they are.
Before long she transforms them into a harmonious, swinging, singing group that proves popular with the congregation, which had been
dwindling along with its finances. Thus both attendance and donations grow
enough to save the church from being closed and sold to two antique dealers.
Soon the choir gains media attention in
Philadelphia, allowing Curtis and his buddies to track her down.
Directed by Erica Wyman-Abrahamson, the acting is
terrific from the leads through the ensemble.
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| Mother Superior (Heather Orth, right) mistakenly confesses to Deloris (Leslie Ivy-Louthaman). |
There also are some terrific singers, especially Ivy-Louthaman
as Deloris and Orth as Mother Superior. Both are powerhouses who bring down the
house several times, such as in their duet “Here Within These Walls.”
Music and vocal director Nicolas Perez leads 11
other orchestra members from the keyboard. The choreography is by Riette
Burdick.
The right-on ’70s costumes are by Bethany Deal with
sets by Mark Mendelson, lighting by Michael Oesch, and sound by Jon Hayward and
Gino Vellandi.
The story might seem familiar because “Sister Act”
was a popular movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. This stage version features music
by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Cheri Steinkellner and
Bill Steinkellner.
It’s all quite humorous and entertaining.
Running about two and a half hours with one
intermission, “Sister Act” will continue through Aug. 25 at the Fox Theatre,
2215 Broadway St., Redwood City.
For tickets and information, call (650) 579-5565 or
visit www.broadwaybythebay.org.
Photos by Mark Kitaoka, Mark & Tracy Photography
