Chanhassen's Sister Act is back and is Fabulous!
Sister Act, Chanhassen’s 2015 hit, is back with the same cast for a second run and to sum up the experience in one word, Fabulous!
Sister Act the musical based off of the 1992 movie is the story of a larger that life aspiring night club singer, Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a murder and is hidden by the police in a convent in a struggling church with a less than great choir. Unsurprisingly Deloris shakes things up, breathes life into the choir and gets butts into the seats and saves the church. The musical is filled with very fun disco style songs that have been stuck in my head ever since I saw the show last Friday. The show is truly filled with joy. I saw the show in its last run at the Chanhassen, and I enjoyed it then, and I don’t know if I have changed or the show has changed, but I loved it so much more the second time around.
It is hard to pick just one element of the show to focus on. The scenic design by Nayna Ramey is simple in a way that allows the stage of the Chanhassen to transition from a convent to a Philadelphia bar seamlessly. The costumes designed by Rich Hamson make the show a joy to watch. And the music direction by Richard Long is tight and brings us back to the 70s.
The cast is also fantastic. Every time that I see Regina Maria Williams it becomes more and more evident that she is a star. She commands the stage as Deloris Van Cartier, delivering a very vocally powerful performance. If I had to give you one reason to see this show it would be Regina Marie Williams. Norah Long as Mother Superior, Britta Ollmann as Sister Mary Robert and Therese Walth as Sister Mary Patrick also gave fantastic performances. Long’s Mother Superior is not so thrilled about hosting Deloris and the changes she is making. It would be very easy to see her as a bad guy but Long makes that impossible. Mary Roberts and Mary Patrick are two of the youngest nun’s in the convent. Their energies are opposite, Mary Patrick (Walth) being full of life and Mary Robert (Ollmann) being quiet and timid. They work so well together, both make you smile and it is great to watch the character development in Mary Robert as Deloris helps her to open up.
It is not that often that you see a show with such a large female force behind it as in Sister Act. Especially a large musical like this one. It brings a different tone to a show, it is refreshing and just another reason that the show is so much fun to watch.
If you love musicals, or laughing at church jokes then I urge you to go see Sister Act at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. It is playing until February 24th.
For more information on how to get tickets click here.
*Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp