Sister Act @ Theatre Arlington
—Jan Farrington
It was an emotion-filled opening night at Theatre Arlington, as the company returned to live theatre after a two-year absence with a nicely revamped stage and theatre space—and a rousing, laugh-filled rendition of the musical Sister Act.
TA pulls out all the stops for this one, with a cast full of strong singer/actors and plenty of lively and creative choreography. What’s more, there’s a great live-music trio playing just offstage, a production staff with theater credits all over the map, and a spanking-new turntable onstage adding kilowatts of energy to the action.
Myiesha J. Duff and Deborah Brown make a fine head-butting pair—Duff playing nightclub fugitive Deloris Van Cartier (hiding out after witnessing a murder), and Brown the Mother Superior of a financially strapped convent—Queen of Angels—who agrees reluctantly to shelter Deloris for a much-needed bit of cash. Brown is a familiar and welcome face (and voice) on North Texas stages, and when her classic style meets Duff’s bold R&B-ness, you just know sparks are gonna fly. And Duff’s rich, emotional song delivery—whether comic or dramatic—just gets better with every number.
And then there are nuns. In music theater terms, nuns are inherently funny and awww-some. But Sister Act’s sisters are more than a hoot—they can sing, dance, and turn a slinky torch song into a hymn. And the show gives us plenty of reasons to care about them all—including elderly, straight-talking Sister Mary Lazarus (Ken’Ja L. Brown), the conflicted and adorable Sister Mary Robert (Tara Park), dreamy-but-sparkling Sister Mary Martin of Tours (Caitlin Martelle), and perky, take-charge Sister Mary Patrick (Payton Hartwick). We feel how deeply these “sistahs” care about their faith and calling, and watch as Deloris grows into herself with them, becoming stronger, surer, determined to do the right thing.
Nuns aside, there are some guys in the story as well. Dwight Taylor is a dark presence as gangsta Curtis, Deloris’ ex-something, whose song about finding “my baby” isn’t romantic—it’s a threat. He’s one of those bad boys who holds your attention—and he can dance. Curtis runs a pack of henchmen (Landry Beckley, Alex Koch, Alfredo Tamayo) who surprise us with close harmonies on a song or two. And Aaron LeDay, though he’s no great singer, is nerdy and touching as police officer Eddie, who’s had a yen for Deloris since school days.
Stage musicals adapted from film (Sister Act was a hit for Whoopi Goldberg way back in 1992) don’t always improve on the original story—but this is a happy surprise. Glenn Slater’s lyrics are pretty darned clever at times, and brighten up Alan Menken’s somewhat generic tunes. And the book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner adds lots of character detail, and the kind of wise-cracking comedy that feels both stagey and genuine. The laughs—and there are lots of them—come naturally from the audience.
Thumbs up to Theatre Arlington artistic director Steven D. Morris for keeping the balance between zany and serious in this big, bustling show (Garrett Caelan Weir is assistant director). Karen Potter’s period costumes add to the fun and sparkle, and Ryan Simón’s sound (hooray for the body mics) kept the lyrics and dialogue unusually clear.
Elaine Davidson is music director/conductor (and plays a fine set of keyboards), with Rex Bozarth on bass and Brent Dacus on drums. Nicole Jamie Carrano’s choreography is all-around impressive, but she makes the audience laugh out loud with some all-too-authentic throwback dancing (think bare-midriff guys and Travolta poses) from the 1970s. What were we thinking back then?
Three cheers for another North Texas company coming back—Theatre Arlington’s 49th season continues in May with a production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.
WHEN: Through April 16
WHERE: Theatre Arlington, 305 W. Main Street, Arlington
WEB: theatrearlington.org; (817-275-7661)
