Local Review: The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Production of "Sister Act"
It can be very nerve wracking to work with iconic material, especially when adapting for the stage. You want the material to stand out on its own, but you also don't want to stray too far away from your source material because some adaptations tend to go downhill when you do. The musical version of Sister Act (based on the 1992 film which starred Whoopi Goldberg) does a very nice job of working with its source material, but with the wrong cast, things might not go well. Luckily enough for the UTEP Dinner Theatre's production, everything fell into place. The cast was perfect, the direction was perfect, the sets looked great, the costumes were fabulous, and the end result was AWESOME. Sister Act was easily one of the best shows I have seen at the UTEP Dinner Theatre. With all of these things in place, the show was an absolute blast and if I hadn't attended the production's final performance, I very easily would have gone again.
Sister Act tells the story of a night club singer named Deloris van Cartier who witnesses her boyfriend, Curtis, murder a man. For protection from Curtis, Deloris is hidden away in a convent, where she butts heads with the Mother Superior and eventually ends up taking over the church's choir, making them a nationwide sensation. Despite a few weak places in the script (by Cheri & Bill Steinkeller), the show is a lot of fun and it is hilarious.
In the lead role of Deloris van Cartier, Tanisha Lewis was stellar. She made the role her own without wandering too far away from the Whoopi Goldberg portrayal that the audience would expect. I was fully invested in Lewis' portrayal of Deloris. As soon as she started singing the song "Fabulous, Baby!" I was all in. Lewis was the perfect Deloris and she stopped the show multiple times with her wittiness and powerful singing voice. As the Mother Superior, Carol Viescas gave a dynamic performance and at times, it was hard not to get on her character's side because she was so good. I'm not sure if this is a spoiler alert or not (What am I saying, you've seen the movie) but it was so heartwarming when she came around to Deloris at the end of the show. Viescas and Lewis showed great chemistry throughout the show.
A really strong point of the show was all of the nuns in the convent. Throughout the entire show, you could easily sense the strong sisterly bond that all of the actresses shared. The standouts among the nuns were Nabil Gonzalez, who was adorably amazing as Sister Mary Robert; Rachel Robins, who was DELIGHTFUL as Sister Mary Patrick; Emma Alcantar, who was perfectly insane as Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours; Eurydice Saucedo, who's hipness was super hilarious; and Selena Stair, who had a good presence and line deliveries as Sister Mary Teresa. Other standouts in the cast included Hugo Arreola as Curtis, John (JD) Guevara as Eddie, Deloris' friend from high school, and Kevin P. Mullin, who was very gladdening as the convent's owner, Monsignor.
If you are looking at the pure written material for Sister Act: The Musical, the script does have some flaws. In fact, I think this production elevated the script a little bit. The comedy is what mostly carries the show and that is why it is fun. However, when Deloris isn't onstage, the show tends to slow down. That is not this production's fault though, but the writers'. The first half of the second act seems to be mostly filler and there are things in the second act that the show could have done without. Something else I noticed is that the show doesn't really dive into the characters' relationships much and when we see the tension between two characters, it's hard to feel for them because we don't know a whole lot about them. I am referring specifically to Deloris and Eddie's relationship, not so much the other characters. However, Lewis and Guevara do share a nice chemistry and they work well together. Other than the things I have mentioned, the show is great. Jay Stratton's direction was spot on; his blocking and casting complemented the material very well and he did a great job putting together an amazing production. The scenic design by Mike Spence looked impeccable and the painted backdrops looked really fantastic on the stage. The music director, Patricia Ann Provencio, did an amazing job with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater's score, and both the cast and the band sounded spectacular.
Once again, I LOVED the UTEP Dinner Theatre's production of Sister Act. It was a phenomenal production and if it hadn't already closed, I would yell at all of you to go see it. When I think of some of the most amusing shows I have seen in El Paso, this one will certainly be one that I remember. I hope to have this much fun at another show soon. I look forward to seeing what the next season has in store for the UTEP Dinner Theatre.
"SISTER ACT"
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Book by Cheri & Bill Steinkellner
The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Production of "Sister Act" was directed by Jay Stratton and the cast consisted of:
Deloris van Cartier- TANISHA LEWIS
Mother Superior- CAROL VIESCAS
Sister Mary Robert- NABIL GONZALEZ
Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours- EMMA ALCANTAR
Sister Mary Patrick- RACHEL ROBINS
Sister Mary Lazarus- EURYDICE SAUCEDO
Sister Mary Teresea- SELENA STAIR
Monsignor O'Hara- KEVIN P. MULLIN
Curtis- HUGO ARREOLA
Eddie- JOHN (JD) GUEVARA
Joey- DANIEL ADRIAN MACIEL
Pablo- JEFFREY QUINTANA
Sister Act tells the story of a night club singer named Deloris van Cartier who witnesses her boyfriend, Curtis, murder a man. For protection from Curtis, Deloris is hidden away in a convent, where she butts heads with the Mother Superior and eventually ends up taking over the church's choir, making them a nationwide sensation. Despite a few weak places in the script (by Cheri & Bill Steinkeller), the show is a lot of fun and it is hilarious.
In the lead role of Deloris van Cartier, Tanisha Lewis was stellar. She made the role her own without wandering too far away from the Whoopi Goldberg portrayal that the audience would expect. I was fully invested in Lewis' portrayal of Deloris. As soon as she started singing the song "Fabulous, Baby!" I was all in. Lewis was the perfect Deloris and she stopped the show multiple times with her wittiness and powerful singing voice. As the Mother Superior, Carol Viescas gave a dynamic performance and at times, it was hard not to get on her character's side because she was so good. I'm not sure if this is a spoiler alert or not (What am I saying, you've seen the movie) but it was so heartwarming when she came around to Deloris at the end of the show. Viescas and Lewis showed great chemistry throughout the show.
A really strong point of the show was all of the nuns in the convent. Throughout the entire show, you could easily sense the strong sisterly bond that all of the actresses shared. The standouts among the nuns were Nabil Gonzalez, who was adorably amazing as Sister Mary Robert; Rachel Robins, who was DELIGHTFUL as Sister Mary Patrick; Emma Alcantar, who was perfectly insane as Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours; Eurydice Saucedo, who's hipness was super hilarious; and Selena Stair, who had a good presence and line deliveries as Sister Mary Teresa. Other standouts in the cast included Hugo Arreola as Curtis, John (JD) Guevara as Eddie, Deloris' friend from high school, and Kevin P. Mullin, who was very gladdening as the convent's owner, Monsignor.
If you are looking at the pure written material for Sister Act: The Musical, the script does have some flaws. In fact, I think this production elevated the script a little bit. The comedy is what mostly carries the show and that is why it is fun. However, when Deloris isn't onstage, the show tends to slow down. That is not this production's fault though, but the writers'. The first half of the second act seems to be mostly filler and there are things in the second act that the show could have done without. Something else I noticed is that the show doesn't really dive into the characters' relationships much and when we see the tension between two characters, it's hard to feel for them because we don't know a whole lot about them. I am referring specifically to Deloris and Eddie's relationship, not so much the other characters. However, Lewis and Guevara do share a nice chemistry and they work well together. Other than the things I have mentioned, the show is great. Jay Stratton's direction was spot on; his blocking and casting complemented the material very well and he did a great job putting together an amazing production. The scenic design by Mike Spence looked impeccable and the painted backdrops looked really fantastic on the stage. The music director, Patricia Ann Provencio, did an amazing job with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater's score, and both the cast and the band sounded spectacular.
Once again, I LOVED the UTEP Dinner Theatre's production of Sister Act. It was a phenomenal production and if it hadn't already closed, I would yell at all of you to go see it. When I think of some of the most amusing shows I have seen in El Paso, this one will certainly be one that I remember. I hope to have this much fun at another show soon. I look forward to seeing what the next season has in store for the UTEP Dinner Theatre.
 |
"SISTER ACT"
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Book by Cheri & Bill Steinkellner
The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Production of "Sister Act" was directed by Jay Stratton and the cast consisted of:
Deloris van Cartier- TANISHA LEWIS
Mother Superior- CAROL VIESCAS
Sister Mary Robert- NABIL GONZALEZ
Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours- EMMA ALCANTAR
Sister Mary Patrick- RACHEL ROBINS
Sister Mary Lazarus- EURYDICE SAUCEDO
Sister Mary Teresea- SELENA STAIR
Monsignor O'Hara- KEVIN P. MULLIN
Curtis- HUGO ARREOLA
Eddie- JOHN (JD) GUEVARA
Joey- DANIEL ADRIAN MACIEL
Pablo- JEFFREY QUINTANA
Comments
Post a Comment