If you want the world to listen— stand up tall and proud— let them know what they been missing— and turn that volume up loud! 2nd Star Productions is raising their voice— ringing through the rafters with their production of Sister Act, which has a couple of matinee performances already sold out! Directed by Kevin Sockwell, with Musical Direction by Michelle Bruno, and Choreography by Kristin Rigsby, this cinema-classic-come-stage-musical is a bit of joyful noise that will give you a case of Sunday morning fever.
It’s a double-edged crucifix with Set Designers Makayla Davis & Andrea Trent. (There’s a whole team assisting them on the painting and building side of things too and their work was impressive— the set looks beautiful.) There’s graffiti on the brick walls and more of a monastic feel to the cloister interior— and the stained glass backlight at the center-back of the scenery is almost identical to the 2nd Star Productions logo (which is a really nice touch.) It’s the furnishing that Davis and Trent load into the scenery that ultimately end up being troublesome. Stage Manager Sally Dodson and her crewman Josiah Killam (along with whoever they have assisting them for these scene changes) don’t quite have a handle on the overall pacing of how to transition these furnishings in and out of scene from one to the next, which gums up the pacing, causes the orchestra— led by Michelle Bruno— to have to vamp for lengthy periods of time, and ultimately creates a stuttering gap in the show’s momentum. It’s not that we don’t appreciate the fabulous roll-on-transformer-style confessional used for the scene with Deloris, Mother Superior, and Monsignor O’Hara, but it takes far too long to construct/collapse and roll on and off. The same can be said for furnishings that create the club, the bar, Eddie’s office, etc. It’s just a bit of a pacing pell-mell that really needs tightening.
But where the intense scenery creates problems, the flashy costumes, designed by Mary Wakefield, tend to make up for it. Wakefield’s ability to build double-layered breakaway costumes and roll-drop habits is impressive. And you’ll love all the sparkle and spangle that gets featured for the finale scenes. What is perhaps the crowning glory of Wakefield’s work in this production is the nun-pajamas. “Bless Our Show”, a number in the second act which takes place in one of the cloister bedrooms, features all of the nuns in their sleepwear. Which is various and sundry florals and patterns of the 70’s, in two-piece long-sleeved pajamas and matching ‘sleep’ veils and wimples. It’s adorable. The disco-flare featured on the lounge singers and Deloris at the beginning are spot-on for the time period and you get the sense that Wakefield knows how to make the disco-threads pop when she has to incorporate them into the more reserved ‘habits’ of the nuns that are featured so prominently in this production. Shout out to the smurf-coat and those fabulous fuchsia ‘Father Mulcahey’ boots!
For being a main stage musical, you want just a little more umph from the overall performance— the choreography (Kristin Rigsby) is simple but isn’t always executed cleanly, the vocals (Michelle Bruno) are powerful but not always tightly blended or succinctly harmonized, and as a whole there seems to be some pacing issues (not just with scenery) but with the movement of characters in the scene. The ensemble (Hillary Glass, Matt Gray, Priya Howard, Lisa Pellittiere, Samantha Roberts, B.J. Robertson, Kristin Tufo) seem to be in places where they ought not to be? This is only really noticeable during “Chase #2” where the ‘street-walkers’ and ‘hobos’ of Philadelphia are suddenly inside the convent for some reason assisting the sisters in eliminating the eminent threat of Curtis & The Three Stooges (and while funny…it just looks out of place…though it appears to come from a vision of ‘giving the ensemble more to do in this production.) When they’re populating the street and the bar scenes they all blend in just fine. And a special-out is owed to Zoë Argabright as Michelle and Lisa Pellittiere as Tina, the backup vocalists for Deloris in that opening club scene. They sing, dance, and create comic moments quite well together.
Where Director Kevin Sockwell really succeeds is with the storytelling component of the production. These actors have really nestled down into their characters, bringing their heartfelt emotions— however silly, joyful, or downright villainous they may be— to the forefront of their various performances. Sockwell has also created a clever place for two young performers (as the Altar Servers, played by Gabriella Dillenback and Jonah Dillenback) to be featured in an otherwise kid-free show. You see Dillenback and Dillenback running back and forth, often up in the rafters dancing alongside Monsignor O’Hara or holding their ears in agony before ‘Sister Mary Clarence’ gets ahold of the choir, and it’s really a cute way to showcase some younger performers who wouldn’t have a place in type of show otherwise. You also get some cheeky little detailed Easter Eggs, like the box of stuffed panda bears that says “For the Nones” that Curtis’ three henchmen are planning to drop off in hopes of catching Deloris hiding in the convent.
Speaking of Curtis (Kieth Flores) and his Henchmen— TJ (Seaton ‘CJ’ Fonmboh), Joey (Bryan Hargraves), and Pablo (Todd Winkler)— you get just the right level of balance with these four performers. You’ve got Flores’ nasty-villainous side reigning supreme every time he speaks, and especially when he sings, which creates a sharp juxtaposition of ‘polar opposites’ compared to the bumbling shenanigans of Fonmboh, Hargraves, and Winkler, whose physical comedy reads hilariously along the lines of The Three Stooges. When these three go about crashing into one another it’s really hilarious. Flores really gets to showcase his vicious side when he’s pouring his vocals into that lyrically dissonant number “When I Find My Baby” while you get a delectable sampling of Fonmboh, Hargraves, and Winkler doing “Lady with the Long Black Dress.” That trio of falsetto and tenor sounds is just delightful and it really amps up their comedic moments on stage.
You also get gems of comedy thrown into Monsignor O’Hara (Gene Valendo)’s character, particularly when the church masses start becoming popularized by the choir. Watching Valendo strut around in the ‘fancy robes’ and try to announce like a 70’s disco icon is a real scream and has the audience in stitches. Valendo can hip-shake with the best of them and is really entertaining to watch, especially when he takes the advice of the song and ‘puts that backside in motion.’ His Irish-Catholic accent is on point too.
There’s a delightful characterization coming out of John Fonmboh, playing Eddie Souther AKA Sweaty Eddie. You get the epitome of nervous-nelly coming from Fonmboh but that disappears in a burst of confidence when he’s singing. Fonmboh has a smooth tenor sound that really lights up on “I Could Be That Guy” and his interactive scenes with Deloris feel genuine. There is a subtle chemistry that percolates between them from the moment she comes running into the precinct and encounters him; it’s a strong foothold in Kevin Sockwell’s overall directive guidance in the character-based narrative of the production.
The sister are where the spirit of the production is truly living. Everyone from the Nun Ensemble (Lori Bonnette, Crista Drysdale, Serena Lorén, Heather Norden, Laura McWade Paez, Nena Smith, Clare Vaché, Valerie Vaché) as well as our named nuns— Sister Mary Theresa (Diane Schwartz), Sister Mary Martin-Of-Tours (Zoë Argabright), Sister Mary Lazarus (Katherine A. Lang), Sister Mary Patrick (Laura D. Hackett), and Sister Mary Robert (Amariya Kailo)— are bringing those heavenly sounds together for all of the big nun-semble numbers like “It’s Good to be a Nun”, “Bless Our Show”, “Take Me to Heaven”, and “Sunday Morning Fever.” You get the vocal enthusiasm, the vocal joy and glee (if not always the unified blended harmonies) from this bunch in spades and it sends waves of feel-good-sensationalism out into the audience, which gets theatergoers all throughout the house in the motivated spirit of enjoyment. Katherine A. Lang as Sister Mary Lazarus is really hilarious with her dry, biting sense of humor, and Laura D. Hackett as Mary Patrick is so bubbly and bouncy, she’s giving Kathy Najimy (who originated the role in the 90’s film) a true run for her money. Kailo as the very meek and meager Sister Mary Robert comes into her own when she hits her stride during “The Live I Never Lead” though she uses her head voice rather than a full-on mezzo-belt to achieve said stride; it’s still an impressive character-arch-growth to be seen in action.
The bickering nature between Mother Superior (Maggie Contompasis) and Deloris Van Cartier (Alexandra Johnson) feels authentic. It’s wild to watch these two polar opposites in play. Contompasis, who does read a little young for the role but you’ll quickly forget about how young she looks and sounds when she starts in with her holy griping to the big guy upstairs about answering prayers, does an excellent job with the role, particularly when it comes to her comic timing and delivery, especially in scenes played directly opposite Deloris. You get a beautiful sense of how vocally capable she is when she sings “Here Within These Walls” and you get her edgy humor infused pricelessly into her talented voice when she delivers her rendition of “I Haven’t Got a Prayer.”
As Deloris-turned-Sister Mary Clarence, Alexandra Johnson is really selling her character portrayal with conviction. There are some questionably curious vocal choices being made when she’s singing, those these only occur during “Take Me To Heaven” & “Fabulous Baby” when she’s singing in the nightclub, so it’s difficult to tell if this is the director and musical director trying to differentiate Deloris from Mary Clarence or if maybe Ms. Johnson just had a little bit of a rough start to the first Saturday performance of the show. Either way, she more than makes up for it with a shocking vocal clarity during “Raise Your Voice” and “Fabulous Baby (Reprise)” as well as the titular number at the tail end of the first act and in the second act, respectively. Johnson’s sassy attitude as Sister Mary Clarence is fierce, her comic timing— particularly when initially entering the convent— is hilarious, and overall she’s an excellent choice for the role.
It’ not without its hiccups, mostly in the pacing, but this production of Sister Act is pretty solid and the tickets are moving quickly. So throw your money in 2nd Star Productions’ collection plate by getting yourself a ticket to raise your voice and see Sister Act this fall!
Running Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission
Sister Act plays through November 2nd 2024 with 2nd Star Productions in residence at at Bowie Playhouse— 16500 White Marsh Park Dr in Bowie, MD. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 301-805-0219 or by purchasing them in advance online.
