Sister Act playing at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish theatre is non-stop entertainment for all ages
I had such a blast at the opening night of Sister Act that I’m not sure exactly where to begin. The show is pure entertainment from beginning to end.
For those of you who missed the Whoopi Goldberg movie, Sister Act from the early 1990s, the plot basically follows Deloris Van Cartier, a young aspiring singer who witnesses a murder and needs to go into hiding so the culprits don’t kill her. She finds refuge at a Catholic convent and as you can imagine hilarity ensues.
The show is put together so well. The casting was spot on and there were some stand-out performances for me. Ta’rea Campbell makes the perfect Deloris and has the right amount of attitude and hits all the right notes while making you really care for her. Hollis Resnik is the perfect Mother Superior and did justice to Maggie Smith‘s character from the movie and that’s no small feat.
E. Clayton Cornelious who plays the cop and Deloris’s love interest is a great dancer. And then there are the sisters who completely make the show. Every single one of them shone in whatever big or small part they had and tied the show together. I wish I could name them all but since I can’t I have to mention that Florrie Bagel and Diane J. Findlay did a stellar job.
The set blew both me and my show partner away. They did so much with it, so quickly and each transformation was amazing. The church they created was spectacular. The music was catchy and kept the mood going. I really love costumes in general and these glittery, disco inspired creations were right up my alley. We couldn’t believe a lot of the changes they pulled off right on stage. All in all every element of this show came together flawlessly.
My date’s other favourite part was the pope in the audience and the fact that by the end of the show the audience had turned into parishioners. Don’t worry though, there’s no real audience participation involved.
There were quite a few nuns in the audience and I was really curious to know what they thought of the show. I wondered if they laughed at all the religious puns or found them a little sacrilegious? I guess I’ll never know. As for the rest of the audience I can say they had a great time.
By the time the show ended everyone was up on their feet clapping to the beat of the music and some even dancing in place. I saw this little girl up in the balcony dancing her heart out and thought this would be a great show for kids too. On our way out of the theatre there was an older lady, probably about 70 years old, actually dancing her way out. This is definitely one of those feel good musicals for all ages.
If there’s one big show you’re going to watch this season make it Sister Act and take the kids and the grandparents with. And also do bring a sweater, the AC makes it quite chilly in there.
Please note that the review originally credited Melvin Abston, the understudy for the role of the cop, in error. We apologize for the oversight and the correction has been made.
Details
– Sister Act is playing at the Ed Mirvish Theatre (244 Victoria St) until November 4, 2012
– Performances run Tuesday-Saturday 8PM; Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday 2PM
– Tickets range from $35 – $130
– Tickets can be purchased at the door, online or by calling TicketKing at 416-872-1212/1800-461-3333
Photo of by Tour cast by Joan Marcus
I appreciate your kind words on our show. However, the role of Eddie – the cop you refer to – is played by E. Clayton Cornelious. Melvin Abston is an understudy for the role and has not yet played it. Melvin plays Eddie’s assistant (cop) in the show; perhaps that is your confusion. In any case, Melvin was not on as Eddie, the cop, and did not “dance” as stated in your article. It’s unfortunate that Clayton did not get the praise intended for him in your article.
Brent-Alan Huffman
Music Director and Conductor (and Pope), Sister Act