It is a show business axiom that nuns are inherently funny. And nuns learning to get in touch with their show biz side are even funnier.
Those seeking evidence of that notion need look no further than the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg movie, Sister Act, or ― since it is currently on view at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale ― the stage musical of the same name based on the 20-year-old flick.
There one could hear a gospel-heavy score by the prolific Alan Menken ― married to greeting card sentiment lyrics by Glenn Slater ― in an effective, if not very inspired, musical about Deloris Van Cartier. She is a pop singer wannabe who witnesses a shooting by her thug boy friend and takes refuge in a convent because of, um, the comic potential in such a plot device.
As in the film that adapters Cheri and Bill Steinkellner slavishly cling to, Deloris is a sassy fish out of water in the nunnery. But she gets assigned by the perplexed Mother Superior to help with the convent’s woefully bad church choir, which Deloris transforms into a congregation and contributions magnet with a disco beat.
The nuns, of course, blossom with the new attention, trying on rhythm-and-blues choreography and increasingly spiffy habits. To her surprise, Deloris enjoys being a part of this spiritual sisterhood. But as the choir gains media coverage, that tips off the thugs who are eager to rub her out. You do not have to have seen the movie to figure out where this plot is headed.
As a pre-sold title because of the movie and with a 14-month run on Broadway, Sister Act has hit the road and from the reaction to Tuesday evening’s opening performance, it is satisfying audiences out for feather-light entertainment. The music is peppy, the cast has talent to spare and no one was expecting another Sound of Music, were they?
The story’s locale has been switched to Philadelphia, presumably at Menken’s behest, so he could write tunes with a Philly soul sound. You are unlikely to be humming anything from Sister Act as you exit the theater, but these songs are more than serviceable at the moment in context.
Ta’Rea Campbell ably carries the show as Deloris, with a killer punch line delivery and the vocal cords to grab and keep our attention. She plays well off of Hollis Resnik as the put-upon Mother Superior who is plunged into a crisis of faith by Deloris’s arrival. Resnik gets the most conventional show tunes (Here Within These Walls, Haven’t Got a Prayer), and climbs every mountain with them. Other standouts in support are E. Clayton Cornelious as a nervous cop with a crush on Deloris and Lael van Keuren as the requisite young postulant who learns to stand up for herself.
Jerry Zaks took over the direction of Sister Act as it lurched towards Broadway, giving the show his signature speed. This is not a show that will have a long shelf life, but if the family is looking for something to see this holiday season, Sister Act should suffice.
SISTER ACT, Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Continuing through Sunday, Dec. 30. Tickets: Starting from $39.50. Call: (954) 462-0222.