Review: Fabulous SISTER ACT at Hale Center Theater Orem Has Soul

SISTER ACT at Hale Center Theater Orem has the glitz and glamour of a disco queen and the heart and soul of a woman of the cloth.

SISTER ACT (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional material by Douglas Carter Beane) is based on the favorite 1992 film, with this iteration set in 1970s Philadelphia. When aspiring club singer Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a crime, she must go into hiding at an abbey before she can testify against its perpetrators. While there, she teaches the convent choir to sing and adds secular pizazz to the sacred numbers, mortifying the Mother Superior but delighting the masses.

Aria Love Jackson (double cast with Jessica Jensen) is a stunning Deloris with powerful pipes and thick skin but vulnerability.

Mindy Taylor as Mother Superior (double cast with Korianne Orton Johnson) has a gorgeous singing voice, Courtney Byrom as Sister Mary Patrick (double cast with Tatem Trotter) radiates joy and love with every word and step, and Abigail Fillmore as Sister Mary Robert (double cast with Hailey Hyde) takes us on a believable character journey.

Nathan Wawro as Eddie Souther (double cast with Carson Davies) and Brock Harris as Curtis Jackson (double cast with Andrew Oliverson) also hold their own as the larger-than-life male leads.

The supporting players are rock solid, with a tight nun ensemble and enjoyable performances outside the abbey.

The direction and choreography by David Paul Smith are impeccably crafted and wildly entertaining.

The amount of makeup on the nuns could perhaps be dialed down in such a small space, but otherwise the production is on point.

The costumes by Dvorah Governale, lighting by Joseph Governale, and set by Cole McClure successfully combine the sacred and the profane--the mundane and the fabulous.

SISTER ACT plays through November 19, 2022. For tickets, call the box office at 801-226-8600 or visit www.haletheater.org.

Photo Credit: Suzy O Photography

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