Sister Act At Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham Review

Reviewed by Sue Rumble

Intro
This is a comedy musical set in the late 1970’s in Philadelphia, where Deloris Van Cartier – played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film, is hoping to make it big as a soul singer.

Booking & getting there
Birmingham Hippodrome is centrally located in the city centre about a 10 minute walk from New Street Station. We travelled by car, the theatre is easy to find and there are a number of car parks within walking distance of the theatre. There are currently a lot of road works on the way into the City Centre but this was not too much of a problem. We parked at the Arcadian NCP car park, only a 2-minute walk from the theatre, which offers a post 5pm theatre rate of £7.50 for the evening. There was a queue to pay at the machine prior to exiting the car park but we were on our way reasonably quickly.

Venue & facilities
Birmingham Hippodrome is a modern theatre, which offers BSL Interpreted, Captioned and Audio Described performances. The seat row letters were clearly lit up and illuminated, making it extremely easy to locate your seats. We were lucky enough to be seated in the stalls with a perfect view of the stage and felt fully immersed within the production. The theatre is very clean and has plenty of bar facilities for drinks and snacks.

Price & Value
The price range of tickets, in my opinion, is extremely good value for money given the quality and length of performance. Prices are dependent on performance day and time and your choice of seat.

Plot Overview
This story is a celebration of the universal power of friendship. Sister Act tells the hilarious story of Deloris, a singer who wants to make it big, whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder and is placed in witness protection. She is hidden in the one place she shouldn’t be found – a convent! Deloris’ new identity is Sister Mary Clarence. Mother Superior finds it difficult having Deloris there and attempts to make her act like a real nun, but Deloris finds this almost impossible. The Monsignor likes Deloris and him and Mother Superior disagree that she should stay. To give her something to keep her busy she asks Deloris to join the choir. Deloris makes the dull, out of tune choir into a successful one, making the church more popular with young people and getting the choir media attention. This helps the church to raise much needed funds to do repairs and to stop the church closing or being sold. After an appearance on television how long will it be before knowledge of this choir and Deloris reaches Curtis and his mob who were guilty of the murder?

Review
What an amazing show from start to finish. It was funny, fast moving and colourful with brilliant performances from the cast who made the audience feel part of the show. The songs were inspired by Motown, soul and disco, this heavenly musical is joyous and uplifting.

The first scene shows Deloris, played by Sandra Marvin, in a club, dressed in 70’s sparkle having an audition with her agent and gangster boyfriend. Sandra’s performance all the way through is absolutely brilliant – her voice is very powerful.

Lesley Joseph who plays Mother Superior sets the scene in the convent with her nuns praying and singing (if you can call it that) very badly. Her performance all the way through was brilliant – very funny and always a great presence on stage.

Other stand out performances are Eddie the policeman who has had a crush on Deloris since school but lacks confidence. His scene when he gains this confidence in a daydream is unexpected, brilliant and very funny. Also, the three other gang members were great comedians – had the audience really laughing and could definitely dance! The young postulant in the convent also struck a chord with me – her voice was lovely. All of the nuns were brilliant and sang beautifully (eventually) and gave us some great dance moves.

Costumes were appropriate for the settings – very glitzy at the end when the Nuns habits were pure sparkle. The sets were done very well changing from the convent to clubs with lighting and glitter balls. Very impressed.

I would definitely recommend this show for anyone who likes a good story and lots of amazing comedy, dancing and singing.

Date of performance – 4th October 2022
Date of review – 5th October 2022
Running Time – 2 hrs 20 minutes including an interval
Rating out of 5 – 5 out of 5
Price of tickets – £26.50 to £73.00
Buy tickets – www.birminghamhippodrome.com
Tickets & information 0844 388 5010
Venue – Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham, B5 4TB
Dates showing – Tuesday 4th October 2022 to Saturday 15th October 2022 in Birmingham