Deloris Van Cartier, second from right, (Donavan Price) sings with her sisters in LALO’s Sister Act, which opened this weekend at Duane Smith Auditorium. There will be a 2 p.m. matinee today, which will also be livestreamed at https://cur8.com/41015/project/138146. Photo by Thomas Graves
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos Light Opera’s production of Sister Act seems sort of miraculous. Its plot is honestly ridiculous; it requires the viewer to take a suspension of disbelief. The cast of characters is goofy and kooky, and to top it all off, everyone spontaneously breaks into song and dance. This is where the miracle occurs because despite the silliness, the musical truly works. It is actually divine.
Here’s the synopsis: Deloris Van Cartier (Donavan Price) has big dreams of becoming a musical star, but her dreams are squashed when she witnesses her boyfriend, Curtis Jackson (Michelangelo Lobato) and his fellow neighborhood toughs kill a man. To protect Delores and ensure she can testify against Curtis, the meek and perspiring Officer Eddie Souther (Rodney McCabe) puts her in witness protection in a convent. Delores becomes Sister Mary Clarence and through a lot of hijinks and hilarity, she realizes her dreams of stardom can still be achieved.
One only needs to see and hear Price to understand what makes this production excellent. Her Deloris is scrappy, charismatic and loving. You can’t tear your eyes away from her when she is on stage. Price also has incredible singing chops; she hits notes that seem impossible. The entire cast deserves praise, but it is easy to see why Price got the starring role; she steals the show.
My other favorite is Mitsi Pair Willard as Mother Superior. She exhibits a delightfully sarcastic, biting wit and certainly holds her own in the musical numbers.
In fact, I loved all the nuns, played by Day Forgaard, Joy Reynolds, Heather Beemer, Claire Singleton, Holly Robinson, Terry Beery, Mary O’Brien, Spring Smith, Jenni Gaffney, Tina DeYoe and Christine Benkoski. They are all so charmingly batty but still genuine and good-hearted.
The sets and costumes deserve mention, too. Price looks every bit like a disco queen in her gold lame mini dress and pink go-go boots, and I love the unique touches to the nuns’ wardrobes. One wears a necklace of chunky red beads while another wears giant horn-rimmed glasses. The sets for the Catholic Church feature a beautiful screen backdrop of a Gothic cathedral’s stain glass windows and I loved the scene inside a police station with a line of miscreants waiting to get their mug shots.
The songs are excellent and they are made even more special with the live orchestra. A few that got my toes tapping were ‘Sunday Morning Fever’, ‘I haven’t Got a Prayer’, ‘Sister Act’ and the real showstopper, ‘Raise Your Voice’.
But it was during the scene featuring a showdown between Curtis’ tough guys and the nuns that got me thinking. I realized that this silly show isn’t so silly; it is about found-family, self-identity and inclusion.
Its theme of inclusion in particular made me break into a smile. The show is effective in proving how powerful it is when people decide to move a little to the left so there’s space for everyone at the table or the church pew or the choir bleachers. Lives can be changed; communities are enhanced and a lot of good can be achieved.
By the end of the show I attended, the audience was on their feet, roaring in appreciation to the cast. And rightly so. The Los Alamos Light Opera’s production of Sister Act is a godsend. Praise the Lord.
Sister Act continues with a 2 p.m. matinee today, which will also be livestreamed, followed by shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28. All performances are at Duane Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School, 1300 Diamond Drive. Tickets at $25/$20 students and seniors are available at the door and online at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/sister-act-2. Tickets to the livestream are available for $20 at https://cur8.com/41015/project/138146.