I’ve already noted that I’m skeptical of the movie-to-musical trend taking over Broadway right now. (Three of the four nominees for best musical in Sunday night’s Tony awards had “the musical” following their names. The winner did not, so maybe Tony voters feel my pain.)
Nevertheless, I watched “Sister Act, the Musical” at Fair Park’s Music Hall yesterday with an open mind, hoping for the best. I was pleasantly surprised.
Crowd appeal: It’s clear I’m in the minority in my view of musicals that are based on movies. The Sunday matinee was a packed house, and the audience, who no doubt had seen the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg movie (who hasn’t?), laughed like they were watching it for the very first time. I did, too.
Movie-to-musical comparison: The storyline is essentially the same, but none of the music is, which may upset or excite you. Most of the songs are influenced by 1970s Philly soul music, so lots of disco, funk and smooth ballads. “Raise Your Voice,” the first song from the convent choir, was just as powerful as any of the music in the movie. The main storyline difference is that lead character Deloris is a rising star (at least in her own mind) rather than a performer who has reached her pentacle at Reno nightclubs. It infuses a little more diva-esque attitude into the musical.
Surprise standouts: Charles Barksdale, Todd A. Horman and Ernie Pruneda, playing the henchmen of Deloris’ boyfriend, Curtis, are superb in “Lady in the Long Black Dress,” a song about how they will capture Deloris by seducing the nuns. Perhaps the funniest number was “I Could Be That Guy,” sung by E. Clayton Cornelious as “Sweaty Eddie,” the cop trying to protect Deloris who has had a crush on her since high school. The secondary roles and chorus in this show are as essential — and hilarious — as its principles, which is what makes it so much fun.
Spiritual insight: You can’t have a musical about a showgirl hiding in a convent without some sort of epiphany. Mother Superior’s “Here Within These Walls,” in which she declares that “I won’t have the outside coming in,” highlights the tension between the church’s call to separate itself from the world and its equally clear call to go into all the world. The ending finds a happy balance, just like in the movie, with Deloris realizing she needs her sisters, Mother Superior deciding God works in mysterious ways, and everyone committing to “Spread the Love Around.”
If you liked the movie: You should see the musical. It’s just as much fun — even more so when you consider that the bad guys provide quite a bit of the comic relief. And soul music, whether of the disco or religious sort, is always better live.
If you didn’t like the movie: Come on, really?
“Sister Act, the Musical” is running through this Sunday, June 16, at Fair Park. If you can’t make it this week, it heads to Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall June 18-23.
Next up in Dallas Summer Musicals’ series at Music Hall is “Flashdance (say it with me), the Musical“, which runs June 25-July 7. Discount tickets are on sale for a limited time via Travelzoo.
