Divinely Joyous – Donovan, Burchmore and Lemon triumph as a Holy Trinity
Review by Damien Barrett @_helloshoppers
Not every musical can be a Hamilton or a Les Mis and take the world by storm. Not every musical can be a lavish, over-the-top spectacular like Moulin Rouge, the jukebox musical to end all jukebox musicals. And not every musical “deserves the chance to fly” like a certain green witch we all know and love. However, what Sister Act – The Musical (presented by John Frost for Crossroads Live at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre) does do in spades is bring its undeserving, heathen audience 2 hours and 40 minutes of pure, unadulterated, musical theatre joy.
Sister Act The Musical is based on the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg film and is a classic fish-out-of-water story. Struggling night club singer Deloris Van Cartier (an exceptional and surprising Casey Donovan) witnesses her married mob boyfriend (James Bryers) murder an informant and must hide out undercover as a nun, in a Philadelphia convent where she soon makes friends, takes over the choir and saves the struggling Parish of the church of Perpetual Sorrows. Along the way, we meet a very stern mother superior, played with a harsh reality that gave me flashbacks to my Catholic primary school years by the very competent Genevieve Lemon, an eclectic and comically brilliant convent of nuns (led by Australian showbiz legend Rhonda Burchmore and aptly supported by Sophie Montague and Bianca Bruce), a hilarious trio of mobsters – James Bell, Tom Struik and Jordan Angelides and a lovesick, goofy cop – a very endearing and likeable Raphael Wong.
I have been listening to the 2009 original Broadway cast recording of this show starring the incomparable Patina Miller for years and know the original Alan Menken music (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors) very well. Audiences who arrived at Sydney’s stunning Capitol Theatre on Thursday night expecting a rehash of the songs from the movie may at first have been disappointed but by the second number in, Fabulous Baby, delivered in full belt from Casey Donovan, they were on board.
Donovan’s impressive list of musical theatre credits in recent years (The Sapphires, Flower Children, Chicago, 9 to 5 The Musical, & Juliet) have seen her grow into a competent stage actress; however, in Sister Act, she carries the entire show and delivers something truly remarkable with spot-on comic timing, powerhouse vocals and the remarkable ability to pull right back and sing so softly, gently with bell-like clarity that you could hear a pin drop. In short, she is both captivating and compelling to watch on stage.
The other stand-out is Rhonda Burchmore, whose role as Sister Mary Lazarus is beefed up from the movie to be the comic relief. Burchmore’s comic timing is spot on. She is quick and lands every gag and this role cements her status as a national treasure of the Australian musical theatre. For a performer who has made her career as a glamourous showgirl, the chance for Rhonda to play a role in sneakers and not Jimmy Choos or Manolos is a departure to be sure however, we do get a little bit of Hot Shoe Shuffle Rhonda, which the audiences eats up and her line in It’s Good To Be A Nun about enjoying self-flagellation had this reviewer nearly falling off his chair in hysterics.
Special mention must also be made of Genevieve Lemon’s Mother Superior who is an excellent foil to the over top and hilarious chorus of nuns.
This heaven-sent version of Sister Act is the revised London production directed by Bill Buckhurst with set and fabulous 70s costumes by Morgan Large. The show is big, bold and brassy and is visually spectacular. The orchestra, conducted by musical director Daniel Griffin really leans into Menken’s 70s inspired score and is well paced.
The thing that makes Sister Act such a hit is the fact that it is one of those musicals that does not pretend to be something it is not. The fish out of water story is nothing new, nor is it a chorus line of singing and dancing nuns, but it is delivered with such purity, joy, and happiness that even several days after seeing it, I still find myself smiling and humming the tunes. This is a true musical comedy and proves that there is still a place for good old fashioned laughs.
Praise be to the cast and crew. It would be a sin if you missed it!
Sister Act The Musical is playing at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre until 26 October after which it embarks on a national tour playing Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
