Theater Under the Stars is on a roll with back-to-back, rocking shows at the Hobby Center. Sister Act opened this week in front of a full house of masked theatergoers. The story follows a vivacious Philadelphia club singer Deloris entering witness protection in a convent after witnessing a murder committed by her gangster boyfriend, where she brings her soul background to the dreary church hymns and creates a gospel choir out of the nuns. The Tony Award nominated musical, based off of the 1992 Film starring Whoopi Goldberg, features a lively, soulful score by Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules) that combines 70s funk songs with Latin hymns to create joyous gospel music that gets even the most straight-laced nuns singing along.
The cast features a mix of Broadway, international, and local actors, all supported by an ensemble of Houston teens. Many of the leads are locals and have been seen in recent TUTS shows such as Elf, Spring Awakening, and The Wiz, while the show also featured Rice alum and Broadway star Alan H Green. The cast made swift transitions between jazzy, heartfelt ballads to Gregorian chants to gospel showstoppers, bringing the audience along on their journey and rooting for Deloris through to the end. The cast members showed a great chemistry amongst themselves, such as the tension between Deloris and Mother Superior’s views that developed into acceptance of the other’s efforts at the convent. The gangster’s three henchmen brought comedic relief to the darker side of the plot and each played off the others well, making it seem that they were friends outside of the show.
While the cast had good chemistry and great talent, the play itself detracted from their acting. Act I began slowly, delving into the characters’ backgrounds more than many musicals, but by the end of the show the conflicts were wrapped up too quickly, with many elements making it feel cliché. The show was uplifting and pleasant to watch, but was much less thought provoking than many other shows put on by TUTS.
Overall, Sister Act was a fun show that got the Hobby Center grooving to the beat of the Bible, and is nearly a show for all ages, where the gospel songs are full of double entendres, drawing a parallel between Deloris’ past and present situations. Sister Act is on stage at the Hobby Center through November 14th. For more information about Sister Act and upcoming TUTS shows, please visit tuts.com. For more Broadway updates, tune into my KTRU specialty show “Showstoppers” weekly on Sundays from 1:45 to 2:45 pm on air and online at ktru.org.