I can get in. I can get close to any woman. Even a nun. Watch and learn.

Those lines are a bit special to me because just over twelve months ago, I was a gangster, trying (hopelessly) to woo the nuns of the Queen of Angels Church, Philadelphia. Therefore, I really looked forward to Birmingham Youth Theatre’s production of Sister Act. As reviewed on several occasions now, I am a great fan of BYT, and they did not let me down.

Sister Act tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier who sees a murder at the hands of her gangster boyfriend, Curtis. Helped by cop, Eddie, who was at school with Deloris and had a crush on her, she takes refuge in a convent where the idea is for her to remain inconspicuous.

“Inconspicuous, how can she be inconspicuous? A neon sign blinking Wa-Wa Food Market is less conspicuous!” ~ Mother Superior (Act 1 Scene 5).

Sister Act is a great show with the music of Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book from Chris and Bill Steinkellner. But to do it justice, you need a great cast and boy did BYT have that.

Zeena Abdalla was amazing as Deloris, excelling in Fabulous Baby (both versions) and especially, Sister Act (Title Number). But there was the right characterisation too and the chemistry between fellow cast members was superb. And there was none more so than Maddison Clarke as Mother Superior who gave a performance Dame Maggie Smith, the original Mother Superior in the 1992 film, would have been proud of. In musical theatre, Maddison ticks all the boxes. Fantastic acting skills on top of an incredible voice. I Haven’t Got a Prayer was out of this world.

In the role of (Sweaty) Eddie was Harrison Doherty who worked well as the luckless cop, giving a great rendition of I Could Be That Guy. Supporting well, though, and sharing some fine scenes with Mother Superior was Luke Griffiths in the role of Monsignor O’Hara (with a brief cameo as the drag queen).

We also had the villains. David Morrison shone as Curtis, including a perfect delivery of When I Find My Baby. Also in that number were Curtis’ henchmen. Joey, played by Charlie McRobert, was excellent, and had my seal of approval. Guess which role I had in the same show last year? Then Andrew Morrison as Pablo was spot on where most of his lines are in Spanish. So hard to do if you are originally unfamiliar but Andrew appeared natural doing so. And finally, Luke Holcroft as TJ. During the opening number, I could tell at once which of the three was TJ as Luke had got the personality from the start, jigging around and appearing, well, goofy. Brilliant.

And then there were nuns.

Where do I start? Daisy Wright (Sister Mary Robert) gave as great an outing of The Life I Never Led as I have ever witnessed. Marvelous for one so young. Last week in a review I commented that one young member of that cast should apply for the Voice Kids 2024. Make that another; Daisy, your voice was amazing. As Sister Mary Patrick we had Lily-Mae Nicholls with the oddball, scatty (for a nun) personality that Mary Patrick needs, making her stand out strong. Then as Mary Lazarus, was Kitty Smart, superb, rapping and delivering some of the best moments and one-liners of the show. Rounding off the main nuns were Marni Carroll giving us Mary Martin-of-Tours, perfect, in her own little world, and Sophie Terry as the oldest nun, Mary Theresa, reminding us that she was “In the room.”

It was lovely to meet some of those behind BYT during the interval who showed real appreciation for my past reviews. And the comment that the members were delighted last January in the Cinderella review where I named all the cast. I let myself in for it with that one, didn’t I? Christ … here goes …

Nuns were Livvy Owen (also Michelle), Emily Green (also Tina), Eva Phelan (also Susan), Tabitha Vlok, Lucy Jones, Beatrice Roberts, Megan Allsop, Sophia Chilton, Sophia Cupples, Amelia Jennings, Sarah Sambhi, Abigail Bell, Anna Simpson, Chyna Smyth, Breah Grimley, Edina Bilham-Moore, Ella Peirce, Ena Moreton, Maisie Cotterill, Oonagh Williamson, Lucy Holcroft, Ava Jones and Bella Hopner. Then Gethin Randerson played Ernie and many other roles, as did George Beckett. Phew!

This was an excellent production of Sister Act and Vivienne Morrison (Director) and Kennedy Glews (choreographer) can be extremely proud of the end results from their fabulous cast. And a very young one at that. But that’s the wonder of youth theatre. The ever-revolving door of talent from small acorns to the giant oaks of stage. Having done the show, I know how hard everybody (particularly the nuns) will have worked for the past six months. Plus, kudos must go to the exceptional set. I bet that wasn’t easy backstage, but well done all.

In charge of an excellent band and overseeing musical direction was one of the best in the Midlands in Chris Corcoran. Sister Act is full of tremendous numbers such as Take Me to Heaven, Here Within These Walls, Good to Be a Nun, Raise Your Voice, Sunday Morning Fever and Spread the Love Around. And of course, there is the one with a special (notorious) place in my heart — Lady in the Long Black Dress.

A fantastic evening. Brilliant show and well deserving of the standing ovation. I heard many saying afterwards that it was BYT’s best show ever. Impossible to disagree.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt

* Photos blatantly taken from social media.