Adaptations of film and television shows into stage musicals range from the fairly faithful (The Producers, any Disney film) to the barely recognizable (The Addams Family Musical). Sister Act, now running at Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse through June 27, falls into the latter category.
Sitcom writers Bill and Cheri Steinkellner have taken the core of the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg crime comedy and, with composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater, turned what was an occasionally sweet fish-out-of-water tale with musical moments into a full-blown musical comedy.
Lounge singer wanna-be Deloris Van Cartier (Majesty Scott) witnesses a murder by her loutish boyfriend, Curtis Jackson (Isiah Carter), and is soon whisked off by a helpful police officer (Andrew Cedeño) to a local convent to hide out till she’s called to testify. She clashes with the cloister’s Mother Superior (Tracy Hinman) while bonding with the members of the order through music. It’s only a matter of time before Curtis locates Deloris and tries to eliminate her.
Significant and sometimes incomprehensible changes include the setting (from San Francisco to Philadelphia), the period (from contemporary times to the 1970s), the characters (Why is a uniformed policeman handling such an important witness?) and the music.
While the film put a few religious and choral spins on songs like “I Will Follow Him,” this show introduces songs like “When I Find My Baby,” a creepy ’70s soul-style number about the terrible things Curtis is going to do to Deloris when he finds her. “My Guy” it ain’t.
There are a lot of very talented people involved in this strange show. Scott delivers a perfect Deloris, though her performance was undermined by poor audio. Hinman is well cast as the dour Mother Superior, and Carter is appropriately villainous as the crime boss, so much so that he was actually booed by the audience.
The costumes by Barbara Page and Carolyn Bartlett are colorful, the choreography by Jorey Cantu is inventive and energetically delivered, and the disco-infused music is well-handled by an eight-piece band under the direction of Ginger Beavers.
The only point where this show and the film converge is with the character of Sister Mary Robert. Hannah Passanisi shines as the shy, reserved nun in search of her calling and delivers the only genuine emotional moment with “The Life I Never Led.”
It’s not director Megan Bartlett’s fault that what’s missing from most of Sister Act is reverence for the source material.
‘Sister Act’ runs through June 27 in the GK Hardt Theatre at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. 6th Street, Santa Rosa. Thur–Sat, 7:30pm; Sat & Sun, 2pm. $32–$56. 707.523.4185. 6thstreetplayhouse.com.
