"Sister Act, the Musical" makes Whoopi at the London Palladium

The opening number of Sister Act - the musical, which opened on June 2 at the London Palladium, is entitled "Take Me To Heaven" - and that is precisely what this delightful new show does to its audience. It is divinely fresh, funny and fabulous.

The show, based on the 1992 box-office smash-hit movie Sister Act, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, is co-produced by Ms Goldberg, Joope van den Ende, Bill Taylor and Adam Spiegel - and has a brand new score by 8-time Academy Award winning composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Pocahantoas, Little Shop Of Horrors, etc.) and lyricist Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid, Home On The Range and the upcoming Phantom of the Opera - Love Never Dies). And what a score it is! Bouncy disco-style numbers, a touching ballad title-song, great "character" songs and some gospel numbers that raise the roof off the theatre.

The movie was set in 1990s Reno and San Francisco, while the stage musical has been transferred to Philadelphia in the 1970s. The plot concerns wannabe disco-diva Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses her gangster boyfriend Curtis Shank commit a murder at the club where she's performing and is forced into the witness protection programme when she reports the murder to the police. Disguised as a nun, she reluctantly takes refuge in a convent, where her unconventional attitude and lifestyle place her in conflict with the straight-laced Mother Superior. However, Deloris uses her singing talent to inspire the other nuns to create a more contemporary choir, and they become the hit of the community. When word of their success leads Curtis and his henchmen to the convent, Deloris finds she has earned the support not only of her fellow "sisters" but also of the Mother Superior as well.

The plot is unashamedly clichéd but the quality of the Book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner transcends all the clichés with its masterful weaving together of bitingly witty one-liners and moments of touching drama. Peter Schneider's perfectly paced direction, combined with Anthony Van Laast's exuberant choreography, Lez Brotherson's stunning costumes and Klara Zieglerova's cleverly effective and beautiful set design, present the audience with a cascade of joyful entertainment.

Added to this is a quite brilliant ensemble cast who all give knock-out performances. Patina Miller does a great job of filling the considerably sized shoes of a role created by the iconic Whoopi; Sheila Hancock exudes an immense stage presence as the Mother Superior, delivering her lines with immaculate comic timing; Katie Rowley Jones and Claire Greenway shine as Sisters Mary Robert and Mary Patrick; Nicolos Colicos is magnificent as Curtis's henchman, Bones; Ako Mitchel, as policeman Eddie who secretly carries a torch for Deloris, completely wins over the audience, especially with his performance of his "character" song, "I Could Be That Guy". But, even amongst this great array of talent, veteran Julia Sutton, as the elderly piano-playing and alcohol-swigging  Sister Mary Lazarus, steals the show!

Sister Act - the musical (which began life in an earlier stage version at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2006 before being re-worked for its London outing) has been very heavily hyped in the lead up to its West End premiere. But for once all the hype seems justified. In the show's finale the entire cast sing "Spread The Love Around". It is likely they will be spreading the love at the Palladium for quite some time.

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