So sing, to whom singing is given?

In the Catholic women’s order of the “Little Sisters of Perpetual Faith” in Philadelphia, the sisters’ choral singing is such a thing that, if recorded, it would probably not make it into the “Good things from monasteries” catalogue.

He screams in the truest sense of the word to heaven.

What luck, therefore, when one day a new sister suddenly appears who is richly blessed with musical talent.

Couldn't she perhaps add the cacophonic babble of voices to a harmonious whole?

Christian Riethmuller

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Now, the powerful-voiced sister Mary Clarence (Kalisha Amaris) is not a nun who has dedicated her life to God, but the life-threatening nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier, who happened to watch her lover, the gangster Curtis (Jonathan Andre) shot another man.

As a witness to the murder, Deloris is in grave danger.

When she flees to the nearest police station in her distress, a plump officer of all people is on duty there, whom she knows from school days as Sweaty Eddie (Alfie Parker).

He adored her at the time and now wants to hide his former crush from Curtis and his henchmen JT (Joshua Lear) and Pablo (Lucas Piquero), which gives him the glorious idea

How Deloris aka Mary Clarence is doing in the convent, how she and the strict Mother Superior (Margaret Preece) collide in two different galaxies and how the contrary worldviews gradually find certain overlaps and, by the way, the church building that is about to be sold due to financial difficulties can be saved, tells the comedy "Sister Act", which was released 30 years ago and has developed into a cult film not least because of the powerful performance of leading actress Whoopie Goldberg.

Outstanding choreography

With its humorous but straightforward plot and plenty of stirring soul music, the film lent itself in a way to a musical version, which premiered in Pasadena, California in 2006 and has since been staged in numerous countries and is now directed by Ewan Jones will be performed at the English Theater Frankfurt.

Jones, who also devised the choreographies for the ensemble, relies not only on the enthusiasm of the 14 actors, but above all on their love of singing, since all the actors sing in the musical version and not just the nuns as in the film .

No old soul hits with a Motown touch are intoned, but songs that the award-winning composer Alan Menken wrote especially for the musical version and which are strongly based on the Philly sound and the disco music of the 1970s.

Performed by a live band led by Mal Hall, songs like "Take Me To Heaven" or "Sunday Morning Fever" sooner or later not only bring momentum to the performance, but also to the hall, which sometimes moves like a Holy Roller - service may occur,

Stewart J. Charlesworth' clever stage design, which is determined by large, sliding panel elements reminiscent of colorful church windows, but whose compartments probably also depict the city map of Philadelphia, repeatedly creates tableaus worth seeing for the more reminiscent of a revue than a coherent piece Storyline that focuses on the songs and conveys some humor about Glenn Slater's lyrics.

It's definitely worth listening to, even if the vocals of Kalisha Amaris, Jonathan Andre, Alfie Parker and Margaret Preece would have been particularly inspiring if they just intoned a phone book.

And when the nuns' choir then sweeps across the stage in glittering costumes for the finale, there's only one hallelujah left anyway.

"Sister Act" will be performed at the English Theater Frankfurt, Gallusanlage 7, until April 2, 2023.

Information and tickets: https://english-theatre.de/