so glad there are others who share my view that this show doesnt live up to much. Made the same comments againt the touring production and was told that I was a douchebag, glad im not on my own - lover of original musicals
02 Feb 12
1st night in Sunderland yesterday.From start to finish excellent.The reaction of the audience says it all-everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show.Great. Go and see it if you can find a ticket. - Jimmy
17 Nov 11
Well I had to go once again to see this show and this is my 3rd time and of course had to see it with Whoopi who made the role her own though I also loved Sheila Hancock when she did it. It is a fun show and the songs are great and all the cast give it 120% and having Whoopi in it--well the audience were almost in ecstasy seeing her on stage. Can I also say what a gracious lady that after the show she signed autographs for all that were waiting at the stage door and I lost count at about 150 heads I could see. Well done Whoopi you are a great star but still down to earth. - Joe Spiteri
25 Aug 10
I had to see this once again before it closes and I do recommend anyone who has not seen Sister Act to go and see this fabulous production. - Ils
22 May 10
My sister and I took mum as a surprise as she is a huge fan of the film. Absolutely wonderful! Although the songs are different from the film this didn't matter at all (although nice to know in advance), as essentially the plot was the same. We were a little disappointed initially not to have Patina Miller, however her understudy Debbie Kurup was fantastic. In fact all of the cast were brilliant as the standing ovation proved. A wonderful uplifting must-see musical. - Emma
29 Mar 10
went to see this last night with a friend..we sat in row v in the stalls...overall a good show..super sets and costumes..patina miller is a real ster what a fab voice!! was a little dissappointed that there were NO songs from the film but i guess u should go with a open mind. julia sutton is so funny and steals the show whenever she is on stage. not sure what the point of ian lavender was to be honest?? generally a good musical..well we had a good evening anyway-would def recommend.. - marie
13 Mar 10
I was very disappointed. They do not sing the Sister act Songs, why? I found it quite boring and the seats were so tight I had to move. - Ross Toal
01 Mar 10
Got some freebees to see this, so having seen it before, decided to go again to see if i was wrong. I wasn't. the show isn't very good. It's better than 'Legally Blond' however. Still dont get the fuss over Patina Miller. She's still cold and phoning in her performance. She doesn't even try to connect with any of the cast. A very selfish performance. We got understudy 'Verity Quade' for Sheila Hancock who was very good indeed in carrying that batton. - Cassox
07 Feb 10
We delayed going to see Sister Act after reading some of the reviews on this site and in some newspapers too. So last night we entered the London Palladium with some trepidation not knowing what we had let ourselves in for. Well I have to report all our doubts were cast aside right from the start. Patina Miller really is a star in the making with a powerhouse of a voice. Both her and Shelia Hancock well deserve to be voted Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a musical at all the award ceremonies this year. The rest of the cast are fabulous too. The stage design and lighting are a wonder to behold and knock anything Priscilla and Hairspray put on stage for six. Go and see Sister Act you wil not be dissapointed it is a great night out. We loved it. - Ils
20 Jan 10
It's taken me a while to catch up with this show. I haven't seen the film, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It takes a while to take off and the music is a blandly formulaic disco, but it's funny, has a lot of energy, delightfully gaudy sets and costumes and it won me over. Sheila Hancock is wasted in a rather under-written role and Ian Lavender's part is very small for an over-the-title billing, but Patina Miller is terrific and the chorus of nuns are great (what is it about the Palladium and nuns?!). Another feelgood show as an antidote to economic misery and freezing weather. - Gareth James
08 Jan 10
Sat in row T 35 of stalls. Eve of 12th Nov' 2009. I, as always had bought the Cast recording, otherwise a musical is a vague mish mash of unfamiliar songs. I thought this was utterly brilliant, particularly the orchestra and the very enthusiastic conductor! The lead, Patina deserves a Tony for this when it hits Broadway. The songs are catchy and well written. Superb singing throughout and actin to match. These guys are graduates from Performing Arts and immensely talented, not some X Factor reject trying to act. I would HIGHLY recommend this show. I am a regular West End attender and this is one of the best I've seen. If any of the production team or cast read this. Thanks for a fabulous night. - Dave from Stafford
14 Nov 09
Priscilla is still hard to beat in my book, although the ticket prices are huge, Sister Act is a fun show but not a patch on the film, the songs are sub Menken, obviously paid half of what he would get at disney, the Nuns songs were the best, it helps having 16 of them singing in harmony, I do agree with some of the comments, stuff could have been cut. - mikey
26 Oct 09
FABULOUS indiluted mindless FUN! and with sensational staging to boot. Where do they store all those props in between scenes?? No matter, it is big, brassy musical with some surprisingly catchy tunes too. Don't be put off by the sniffy low star ratings here - if you aren't snobby enough to worry about sitting next Mr & Mrs Essex and want to have a fun evening out then go and see it. Patina Miller I guess steals the show with her amazing voice, whilst Ms Hancock bumbles around looking suitably shocked (or is that confusion?) all the time, and Ian Lavender? Why? Apart from that Lez Brotherstone really steals the show with his amazing sets. WATCH the theatre bar though Mr Lloyd-Webber, not satisfied with being one of the richest men in the world, charges £7.50 for a gin and tonic!! That made our party of four's drinks bill, pre-show and interval, a mouthwatering £60!! Maybe it helps towards the costs of the staging? - rds
10 Sep 09
Sister Act will not win any awards for subtlety or the quality of the book but, in an otherwise thin year, it should clean up as best new musical, particularly as it's far better than the overrated Priscilla. The story follows the film pretty closely but there is a new score of effective 70s soul / funk but it's the rousing gospel choir numbers which really lift the show. Patina Miller is an engaging Deloris and sings up a storm. Ian Lavender is amusing as a Monsignor (partly because it's Ian Lavender - National Treasure). Similarly the excellent Sheila Hancock disdains any attempt at an American accent and mostly sings a la Rex Harrison, but he show is nearly stolen by the remarkable Julia Sutton as an elderly nun, knocking back shots and rapping for the Pope. With an impressive stage design Sister Act has no pretentions but delivers full entertainment value, which is really all you can ask from a musical. - David Baxter
03 Sep 09
One of the best "new" shows for a long time.
We have see recently only reproductions of famouse shows like Grease, La Cage, Hairspray or Joseph. It was time for something rather new. Only "rather" as the story line is well known from the movie Sister Act.
The music is entirely new, and some of the songs are just brilliant. However the soundsystem at the Palladium doesn't seem to be good enought. You are missing the deepness, and sometimes do not get the feeling to be "in" the scene. You feel mor like a veiwer, which you are, buit i could show i think should develope the feeling in you to be a part of it.
Patina Miller playing Dolores van Cartier is stunning, here power, energy and voice will blow you away. The comedy elemnts of the show are fare better as in the movie with Sister Mary Lazarus playd by Julia Sutton, stealing the show each time she is on Stage.
And when the nuns take over the stage, the audiance startet clapping their hands although it was just the end of the first part of the show.
Do not expect any deepnes, or intelectuality, it is a fun show, fun to watch and listen. - Nick
04 Aug 09
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This show is as far from a Palladium standard as you can get; a one dimensional effort, peopled with cardboard comic-strip characters, totally forgettable music, little evidence of direction, hideous costumes, unbelievable performances, grossly overpriced, and a total waste of time. A waste of a very good film!
And what the much lauded Ms Miller and Hancock were doing involved in all of this is a mystery. Sorry but there was nothing at all to recommend. - Big Bert
30 Jun 09
This show is as far from a Palladium standard as you can get; a one dimensional effort, peopled with cardboard comic-strip characters, totally forgettable music, little evidence of direction, hideous costumes, unbelievable performances, grossly overpriced, and a total waste of time. A waste of a very good film!
And what the much lauded Ms Miller and Hancock were doing involved in all of this is a mystery. Sorry but there was nothing at all to recommend. - Big Bert
30 Jun 09
This is a rather unfortunate show.
The bits with the nuns are great... but everything else is terrible. It's like a big expensive pantomime with some unlikeable girl in the lead. The film works because we LIKE Whoopie Goldberg, however Patina is a rather underpowered bitch version of that character, so i really couldn't care less if she lived or died... In her defence, she does have to work with a turd of a script, and it does take the likes of Shelia Hancock to really make it work properly.
There's also a hideous floor in the show, in that the nuns can sing, before they can sing...... whoops! Blunder-tastic!
Try Harder.
- cassox
26 Jun 09
An evening of purest rubbish - df
04 Jun 09
I was a little apprehensive about seeing this but left the theatre at the end with the knowledge that a new westend star has been found. Patina Miller as Deloris Van Cartier is absolutely outstanding and commands the stage from the moment she walks on to the moment she leaves. Her voice is amazing.
I was also expecting the songs to be second rate but they showed that the production doesn't need to use the film soundtrack.
The whole cast played their part in a very surprisingly enjoyable evening (though Ian Lavender was very disappointing!). However, key to the show's success is the fantastic Patina Miller; the true star of the show. - Kwwick
30 May 09
Saw Sister Act The Musical last night on a Whats On Stage evening at the london Palladium and have to confess straight away to having the best night of entertainment at a theatre since seeing Mel Brooks' The Producers.
Sheila Hancock was great as the Mother Superior and Ian Lavender eventually rocked as the Monsignor, but the star of the show is truly Patina Miller as Deloris Van Cartier. she manages a mixture of good acting with great singing.
There are also standout performances from Chris Jarman (Shank), Ako Mitchell (Eddie), Julia Sutton (Sister Mary Lazarus) and the ever reliable Nicolas Colicos (Bones).
Always fearing a musical with new music this Sister Act departs from its film namesake, swapping motown 1960s with Disco 1970s. Alan Menken achieves an Everest feat by composing great music and Glenn Slater provides some intelligent and funny lyrics. I have very little doubt that the critics will be producing 5 Star reviews following Press Night on Tuesday. This is musical theatre as good as it gets
- Gary Mills
30 May 09
Take two fantastic leading ladies in Patina Miller and Sheila Hancock -supported by an enthusiastic company. Add an amazing set (at least the convent scenes are - the less said about the rest, the better) as well as some great lighting and you have most of the ingredients for a wonderfully entertaining - if not challenging - night at the theatre. A fun night out out if not the most memorable musical score. - Bert
29 May 09
Left in the interval, the amazing end to the 1st half was too little too late. I thought I was watching a cheap production of 'Daddy Cool' or 'Saturday Night Fever' not a modern musical which could compete with Billy Elliot, We Will Rock You, Wicked or Priscilla - Jonny
29 May 09
In a week in which seventeen assorted British (male) p*ss artists on a stag weekend were arraigned in Greece for impersonating nuns, albeit not convincingly enough for the prosecution to produce a single complainant witness at their trial, it seems appropriate to reflect on the position of the Sisterhood in popular entertainment, and why nuns are perceived as funny and cute. <<<>>>
Anyone who's seen or read The Magdalene Sisters - or, indeed, rewound and replayed the segment where Geraldine McEwan thrashes the bejaysus out of Dorothy Duffy with a rubber hose and a glint that should really have disqualified her from ever again playing sweet old ladies like Miss Marple - would consider institutionalised sadism, lesbianism, mental cruelty and downright cant to be core values in convents, but stage musicals resist the repressive and celebrate nuns as cuddly. <<<>>>
Fair enough, but I wouldn't want to bring one home.<<<>>>
Clearly this bunch trained at the sunny seminary of St. Connie of All The Fishers since they have 'Sound of Music' written through them like rock - there's the dour one, the sour one, the chubby one, the feisty novice and the septuagenarian rapper. Well maybe Rodgers and Hammerstein didn't envision the rapper but in this production it's veteran Julia Sutton (whose age it would be indecent to guess but I bet it starts with an 8 before the show's run is finished) who steals every scene in which she appears. <<<>>> READ REST OF REVIEW AT www.blowstar.blogspot.com
- Johnny Fox
26 May 09
What a great show, one not to be missed, so up beat and uplifting and the whole cast great especially young patina and sheila hancock, can't wait to see it again. My husband and I came to see the very first showing of sister act on the 6th june 2009 and were blown away with it, I know the film was excellent, but the show was brilliant, really a must see show. Infact the two tickets I won through the Ilford recorder so thank you. - Christine
22 May 09
Saw the show last Saturday and apart from one highlight sitting next to Ronan Keating, his family and Stephen Gately, the other highlight was Pattina Miller...what a sensation and what justice she has done to Whoopi's original character. Sheila Hancock was also fantastic and although her voice is not outstanding, she has a charming, loving, enchanting aura to it that makes you just love her. I agree that the show lacks a number from the Nuns equivalent to "I will follow him" from the film, which is slightly disappointing, though the numbers were just Brill and made you want to get up and join in the Habit. The set design was awesome and they done "Our Lady" proud, but for me, the costumes were striking and grew in the wowness factor as the show progressed. People always compare things like this to the original films, which really they should not do, but it happens. This show basically follows the same storyline as the film with a few little tweeks and changes, which I don't think does it any real harm and in fact, makes it more exciting as you watch the development in the changes with some of the main characters, making them more interesting, like Luit. Eddie Salva. I would strongly recommend this great show and am sure it will run for years...God Bless it and all who appear in it. - Steve Dance
21 May 09
Pattina Miller (a real star with great stage presence and fantastic voice) and Sheila Hancock (game for a laugh) are both great, but the story's a mess, all the men (and their songs) need to be cut as they just stop the show to shoe horn in a really bad song now and then that has very little to do with the story, Sister Mary Roberts doesn't have the power house voice needed (like Mary Makkena in the movie), the direction (or lack of direction) was dire, the choreography is really boring (not what I would have expected from Anthony Van Laast at all) and worst of all the music sounds like songs cut from a Disney show or Dreamgirls. I came out and couldn't remember a single tune from the show. Such a shame they didn't use the music from the movie. There was nothing very gospel sounding in there and nothing came close to I Will Follow Him in the movie. Really was expecting a lot more. It did make me want to watch the movie again though. Doubt I'll bother with the stage version again. - Steve
21 May 09
Mindless garbage that wouldn't even test the intellects of the 'Loose Women'
A third rate panto for the gangs of drunks who call the shots in theatreland these days, but who else would be stupid enough to pay £85 for a seat? - joesmith
18 May 09
Patina Miller is the rising star of this musical.But also thanks to Sheila Hancock, Julia Sutton, Katie Rowley Jones, Claire Greenway and all the nuns they really made this a very enjoyable musical to watch. Everything about the show is impessive but the set design by Klara Zieglerova and costume by Lez Brotherstone really stood out. Great music by Alan Menken. Raise Your Voice and The Life I never Led, Sister Act were the high note of the evening. - Rose glasses
