![](https://www.sardinesmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/methode_times_prod_web_bin_3b14e4a0-0d93-11ed-93cf-b011fa7fe86b-scaled.jpg)
Show: Sister Act the Musical
Society: London (professional shows)
Venue: Eventim Apollo, 45 Queen Caroline Street, London W6 9QH
Credits: Producers: JAMIE WILSON & WHOOPI GOLDBERG. Music: ALAN MENKEN. Lyricist: GLENN SLATER. Book: CHERI STEINKELLNER & BILL STEINKELLNER. Additional Book Material: DOUGLAS CARTER BEANE
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 27/07/2022
Sister Act the Musical
Chris Abbott | 28 Jul 2022 11:53am
Berverley Knight in Sister Act the Musical. Photos: Manuel Harlan
The Eventim Apollo at Hammersmith is a big old barn of a place with nice Art Deco features, but some stage shows end up looking lost there in the enormous auditorium, which has quite limited stage depth. None of that seems to wrong-foot the new production of Sister Act however, which has triumphantly taken up residency for the summer. It’s a big production with a very strong cast and a strong feel of all the best features of large-scale pantomime: performers to appeal to each age group and a strong storyline leading to a happy ending for all, apart from those who have been found to be irredeemably bad.
The casting is extremely well-judged, with Beverley Knight excelling in yet another musical lead, this time showing she can handle the comedy as well as all the other requirements of musical theatre. She has a remarkable ability to make contact with the audience whilst remaining totally in character. As the Mother Superior, Jennifer Saunders takes on the Maggie Smith mantle and takes the role to a new height. She copes well with the singing (when she gets any) but mostly works hard to drive the story and increase the laughs. It is a skilled, finely-tuned and selfless performance, very much a part of the team.
As Sister Mary Lazarus, veteran performer Lesley Joseph more than holds her own, and adds rap to her skill-set. Clive Rowe brings his exquisite voice and comic timing to the small but important role of police officer Eddie, and a trio of no-goods are brought vividly to life by Jeremy Secomb, Tom Hopcroft and Bradley Judge. It is two relative newcomers who get some of the most enthusiastic response however, with Keala Settle a comic delight as Sister Mary Patrick and Lizzie Bea blasting the roof of the theatre as Sister Mary Robert with her glorious and powerful voice.
Sound balance with the orchestra under Jae Alexander is mostly good, although lyrics were not always clear; possibly a problem linked to the venue’s acoustic. The show looked great, with a series of false pros arches framing the smaller scenes but allowing use of the full width of the stage for the bigger numbers. The sets and costumes, by Morgan Large, seem totally at home in this space and include some nice surprises as well as meeting all other requirements.
The show tours after its London run, with alternate Sandra Marvin taking over in the lead role and Lesley Joseph stepping up as Mother Superior, visiting many venues from September this year to July 2023, and deserves to succeed at all of them.
Most of all, Sister Act is to be welcomed not just as musical theatre production and performance at its best, but for the chance to see a show where there are multiple roles for women as key plot drivers rather than responding to the men around them; and for the opportunity that will give to many of our greatest female performers.