Storms are raging, gas prices are soaring, and Donald Trump is a birther. Calgon, take me away! Carry me to someplace where there is fun, sparkly clothes, upbeat music, and lots of laughs. Someplace a lot like Sister Act.

Just as in the very successful 1992 movie with Whoopi Goldberg, a flashy woman sees a murder and has to hide out in the last place anyone would look for her—a convent. In this incarnation, club singer Deloris Van Cartier is played by Patina Miller. Miller is making her Broadway debut in this role, and she’s on her way up the charts to stardom…with a bullet. She can deliver a joke; when she mangles the dinner prayer, and when she realizes she will have to go “incognegro,” the audience roars. She’s a wonderful singer, with a touch of Eartha Kitt in her voice, and she knows how to put over a song. No surprise that the tunes by Alan Menken are catchy and cheerful. And Miller has that quality that can’t be learned, the ability to win over an audience immediately. We love her from the moment she starts to sing with her “Supremes” style trio to the big curtain number she belts out with the entire cast.

Victoria Clark provides the perfect balance as the put-upon Mother Superior who must harbor the not so angelic Deloris. A lesser performer might have played this role as a villain, or a latter day Miss Harrigan. Clark lets us see a flesh and blood woman who genuinely cares for her charges, and who questions why her world appears to be coming apart at the seams. This Tony Award winning Broadway vet adds the heart that keeps Sister Act from being disrespectful of the convent’s traditions.

Director Jerry Zaks keeps the show moving at a fast clip. The costumes are perfect for the late 70’s disco mad era of the play; the thigh high purple stiletto boots become emblematic of the need for all of us to keep alive our wild and crazy side, just a little bit.

The only thing that strikes the wrong note here with me is the attempt to somehow keep the show bubbly, even when the gangster who has been her lover plots to kill Deloris. A darker note would have added some gravitas to the show, and taken nothing away from the plot. The playful hijinks at the end seem to add a “just kidding” wink at the murder we’ve seen in the first act. Aside from the atrocious singing of the choir pre-makeover, this is the only thing that’s off-key in this production.

The traditional old Gospel tells us there are “Twelve Gates to the City.” This is very much the theme of Sister Act. Even though someone else may not believe or worship as we do, it’s important to remember that love is surely the way to heaven, and that the Lord always welcomes a joyful noise.

Sister Act
The Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street

Michall Jeffers is an accomplished Cultural Journalist. She writes extensively, both in print and online. Her eponymous cable TV show is syndicated throughout the tri-state area, and features celebrity interviews, reviews, and commentary. She is a voting member of Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association, and International Association of Theatre Critics. www.michalljeffers.com