In mid-March, Southern Lehigh’s theatre department put on a fabulous performance of the U.S. National Tour version of “Sister Act” for their spring musical, directed by Mr. Matthew Wehr. The musical comedy is set in 1978 Philadelphia, and focuses on Deloris Van Cartier, a high-spirited club singer who witnesses her mobster boyfriend, Curtis Jackson, shank an employee. Deloris is spirited away to a convent under a witness protection program where she makes her mark. The two-hour musical with only two acts featured senior Giuliana Augello as Deloris, senior Lexi Brown as Mother Superior, senior Daniel Zelenkofske as Lieutenant Eddie Southern, and senior Garrison Piel as Curtis Jackson.

To start on a high note, the singing in the musical was delightful. The actors showed depth in their vocal ranges, nailing the notes to their songs, whether high or low. Throughout the musical, everyone sounded proficient at their piece.  

The theatre department really put the “comedy” in musical comedy. Few jokes missed the mark, as most the quips were well acted out and amusing. For example, when Mother Superior (Brown) reacted exasperatedly to the nuns as they sang “Take Me to Heaven” in the first Church service, the piece was funny and the jokes landed well.

Quirky characters, like TJ, played by freshman Christian Clausnitzer, and Sister Mary Lazarus, played by junior Jill Werbisky, didn’t seem overdone, and the hilarity of the musical greatly benefitted from them. The actors brought the characters to life and each drove the musical with their personalities, taking the audience on an entertaining ride while they were at it.

One downfall of the musical is that the predictable plot of “Sister Act” is not something that will amaze or take you down a twisting path. Technical difficulties also impacted the March 18, 2pm showing I went to, as some microphone static crackled for a few scenes. Only these two issues really marred my viewing of “Sister Act,” and neither impacted my total enjoyment of the musical.

Overall, I would give “Sister Act” three out of four stars. I laughed with the musical, enjoyed the choreography, and generally had a pleasant time. With the performance of “Sister Act” now behind them, the theatre department now looks towards the Freddy Awards to see what their effort will earn them.