Sister Act Is Missing Some Whoopi On Broadway!

Perez caught Sister Act on Broadway on Wednesday night, and while we were very happy we saw the show and we enjoyed it….
We were underwhelmed by the production!
The biggest problem is that while Patina Miller, who plays the Whoopi role, is clearly very talented, she doesn’t have the star quality needed to carry a show like this on her shoulders!
Miller was good but not great. Maybe she was tired from the matinee earlier in the day? Maybe not.
The video we posted above doesn’t change our opinion of her in this role.
This character is tailor-made for someone like a Beyonce. She needs to be THAT GOOD! And, unfortunately, Patina Miller is not.
In fact, there wasn’t anyone that was exceptionally good in the production! Everyone was good enough but not GREAT. And, for that, we blame director Jerry Zaks and the casting folks.
The only performance we really liked was Lael Van Keuren as Sister Mary Roberts. She was really really good! And, even though her part had a great arc and she had a showstopping number, if she wasn’t able to deliver the lines and songs as well as she did, it wouldn’t have flown!
Lael is actually the understudy for Sister Mary Roberts. She was hungry and had something to prove!
The same couldn’t be said for Jennifer Allen, the understudy for Mother Superior, who went on in place of Victoria Clark, who was out for the performance we saw.
Allen was kinda just okay. We’re bummed we missed Clark, as we had heard great things about her performance.
The music, by Allen Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater – was really good. We just wish the production was as good!
Also very enjoyable, though, was the amazing set design!
The costumes, like most of the show, was good but not great.
Oh, and because we care, the volume for the vocals AND orchestra should be a little louder. And the temperature in the theater should be a little cooler!
Overall, though, it was an enjoyable experience!