By Michelle Rawlins
Take me to heaven, those nuns can sing!
The habit certainly made an impact as they landed in Sheffield to a full theatre, and, praise be, they definitely didn’t disappoint.
This fun, joyful and glitzy adaptation of the much-loved film starring the fabulous Whoopi Goldberg was every inch as divine.
From Gabrielle Davina Smith as Deloris and Lesley Joseph (Dorien Green from Birds Of A Feather) playing the crotchety Mother Superior, to Olivier Award winning Clive Rowe as the dopey but loveable cop, Steady Eddie and Graham MacDuff as the camp, sequinned spectacled, Monsignor O’Hara – he brilliant cast was second to nun (or none!)
Like the 1992 hit movie, this reimagined show tells the story of the deflated and going nowhere lounge singer, Deloris Van Cartier, who ends up being hidden in a struggling convent after witnessing her on-off two-timing gangster boyfriend, Curtis Jackson (Jeremy Secomb) murder a snitch.
Shenanigans and hi-jinks follow, as the once purple kinky boot wearing former small-time dancer Deloris adjusts to a life revolving around prayer and redemption, bringing new life and fun to the less than pious order.
Dolores teaches the nuns, with their out of tune, ear-bleeding tones, to find their heavenly voices with more funky pizzazz than has ever passed the gates of the religious order. It was hard not to tap your feet and raise your voice, as one familiar and truly brilliant tune after another, including Take Me To Heaven, I Could Be That Guy and Sunday Morning Fever were belted out.
It’s not just the musical numbers, under Neil MacDonald’s expert instructions, that make this show the hit it is. Director, Bill Buckhurst, who previously brought Sweeney Todd to the theatre, has done a phenomenal job of bringing this colourful and energetic show to the stage, after what got off to a shaky start when Goldberg herself pulled out of the originally planned tour. There are some great fun moments, including Rowe’s double-quick change from frumpy, lovelorn cop to a sequin wearing singing, disco-dancing superstar – much to the enthusiastic amusement of the audience.
The set, although small, has been cleverly created and works in harmony with the bold and bright lighting, to ensure Deloris finally gets the glamourous setting she has dreamt of.
Costume designer, Morgan Large, has also done a fabulous job of bringing more sequins that you can shake a stick to the usually demure and plain nun’s habits.
This really was fabulous, baby, and if you need something to lift your spirits, your prayers have well and truly been answered!
Touring until: May 2024
Tickets here