ATG certainly know their audience. Matching a well-known personality to the right vehicle is not rocket science, but takes the kind of instinctive nous that generally comes with extensive experience. We’ve noted previously that Alexandra Burke is a consummate artiste who fully justifies the leap from XFactor wannabe to the heights of celebrity fame. Moreover she is a popular entertainer who commands a respectable following, as last night’s delighted full house at the Bristol Hippodrome testifies.
The choice of director is also an important part of the indefinable chemistry that produces a successful mix. In Craig Revel Horwood they have a director/choreographer, with a growing list of respectable credits, who has the knack of knowing the popular taste and giving the public what it wants. Turning black nun’s habits and a gloomy gothic interior into something glossy is no mean achievement.
The plot bears a striking resemblance to that of Some Like It Hot. Deloris, a nightclub singer (Alexandra Burke) witnesses a murder committed by her boyfriend, nightclub owner and petty gangster, Curtis (Aaron Lee Lambert). In order to avoid being bumped-off herself – being the only witness – she goes on the run, ending up in a convent at the suggestion of Eddie (Jon Robyns), a bashful local policeman who has had a crush on Deloris ever since they were at school together. Before the hoodlums catch up with Deloris she manages to turn the caterwauling nuns into a media singing sensation (hence the discovery) with a booking to perform for the Pope. This in turn allows the nuns to save their church from imminent metamorphosis into a trendy antiques showroom.
Ultimately there was too much going on for the show to maintain any tension and it had to rely on the musical numbers to keep the audience engaged. Although staged with wit and energy these did not include any that were catchy enough to rise to the memorable heights of the very best musicals. The cast and director did their best with the stereotyped cartoon characters and kept the show moving along to the predictable conclusion. The dialogue was perishable with a couple of lines from the ranks of the nuns managing to draw a smile; (whilst dancing to some R&B) ‘This must be what Protestants feel like.’ And another from a perplexed nun when Dolores reveals she is neither a nun or a Catholic, ‘But you are a negro?’ For the rest, if you like less than saintly nuns doing un-nun-like things, then this show is for you, which is also the case if you are a fan of Ms. Burke who holds the thing together in some style. ★★★☆☆ Graham Wyles 20th September 2016
