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| View From Our Seats: Orchestra Left, Row X, Seats 1 + 2 |
We went to Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center in Louisville to see a matinee performance of the national touring company production of Sister Act The Musical.
It was part of a much needed day out for us. Our first break as a couple after the very busy last quarter of 2013.
We have seen theatrical adaptations before. We've enjoyed some and other not so much.
Not knowing much about this musical we weren't sure what to expect. We assumed that it would be like the movie but that's not always a guarantee.
Our first inclination as to what we were going to see was in the show's program.
Whoopi Goldberg, the star of the 1992 movie, was credited as a producer.
The songs listed were all new to us. Not any of them were familiar or the same as the movie.
But there were a couple of other things printed in the program that indicated the show would be good.
Two of the main female cast members had played the character of "Nola" in the stage version of Disney's "The Lion King".
Jerry Zaks, the show's director, had also directed "Smokie Joe's Cafe" the only show I've ever actually seen on Broadway in New York City. I really like that show.
The final positive aspect was that the music was written by Alan Menken.
He is the composer of the scores for the classic Disney films. Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin to name a few. At least the music was going to be good.
I'm not going to give away any spoilers about the play but here's the most obvious ways it differs from the movie.
It's set in Philadelphia, not Las Vegas, in the year 1977. The main character, Deloris, is a singer trying to get her boyfriend (who owns a night club not a casino) to recommend her to a record company.
The policeman who helps her is a uniformed officer not a detective. There is also a romantic aspect to their relationship.
The music covers the genres of 70's R&B, disco, and of course the typical Broadway style production numbers and ballads.
As a 70's music geek I recognized all the styles Menken used including a song that's a parody of "Float On" (a 1977 #2 hit for the R&B group, The Floaters), the styles of the Stylistics, and even a bit of the Bee Gees.
The cast was very funny. There were all good but some them were standouts. T.J. the nephew of the night club owner, was hilarious.
The jokes were clever and had several 70's reverences in them. There's even a joke about a character from M*A*S*H.
We left the theater with a smile on our face. I told Paula that other than "Spamalot" that was the best musical I've ever seen.
Now, I may have enjoyed it because it's set in an era I really connect with. But anyone over the age of 16 or so would enjoy it.
The national tour is going to be in Nashville at TPAC in the middle of March. If you don't live in my area you can search for their website and find when they are coming to where you are.
If you're looking for a fun night out with someone special, family or some friends. I'd say go catch "Sister Act The Musical.
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