Lewis, Ward Land, Polic to headline "Sister Act"

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 9/9/06 at 9:26pm

Dawnn Lewis, Elizabeth Ward Land, Henry Polic II to Headline Sister Act
By: Brian Scott Lipton


"Dawnn Lewis, Elizabeth Ward Land, and Henry Polic II will headline the world premiere production of Sister Act: The Musical at the Pasadena Playhouse, October 24-November 26. The production, to be directed by Peter Schneider, will move to Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, January 17-February 25. No additional casting information is currently available.
The show is based on the popular 1992 film written by Joseph Howard and starring Whoopi Goldberg. It features music by Oscar winner Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and a book by Emmy Award winners Cheri and Bill Steinkellner Schneider directed the Los Angeles production of Grand Hotel: The Musical and is a producer of such Disney productions as The Lion King.

The plot concers nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier (Lewis), who is placed in protective custody in a convent as she prepares to testify against her gangster ex-boyfriend. While there, she takes on the guise of Sister Mary Clarence and shakes up the convent's staid ways.

The show's creative team includes Michael Reno (creative supervisor), Marguerite Derricks (choreography), David Potts (set design), Garry Lennon (costume design), Donald Holder (lighting design), and Carl Casella and Dominick Sack (sound design). The orchestrations will be by Doug Besterman, and Michael Kosarin will be the music supervisor.

Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa on the NBC sitcom A Different World and will be seen as Melba in the upcoming film version of Dreamgirls. Land, who will play the Mother Superior, appeared on Broadway in The Scarlet Pimpernel, City of Angels, and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Polic will play the Monsignor; his numerous film and television credits include When Things Were Rotten, and Murder, She Wrote."

http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/8996

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 9/9/06 at 9:42pm

Great! I've been anxious to hear who would be Sister Mary Clarence. Dawnn Lewis should do good, she has a nice voice.
Updated On: 9/9/06 at 09:42 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 12:07am

bump

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 12:17am

Hopefully after Pasadena, Broadway is next in line

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 11:03am

Unless they go back to the film's Motown score, it'll flop. Mark my words, ladies and gentlemen.

[InfiniteGirl]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 11:19am

Gvendo - how about waiting til you hear the score before you judge? I have heard it, and it's FABULOUS, baby!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 11:37am

I never heard of the people in this cast. If it is going to get to Broadway, it will need some "names" or at some kind of special effects. Perhaps a flying nun who can shriek out a song as she flys away or a falling crucifix or....

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 11:45am

Sister Act is a well known enough movie to almost sell itself. Just because you have never heard of Dawnn Lewis doesnt mean she doesnt have a fanbase or a long career in TV/Film.People flatter themselves so much nowadays....

[jimnysf]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 11:49am

She is not a name and will not sell tickets on Broadway! People will not shell out $110 plus to watch a no name in another one of these movies turned into stage plays. See "Wedding Singer" as an example.

And sweetie, if I haven't heard of her, millions of others haven't either. Her fanbase is not going to translate into the kind of ticket sales needed to sustain a show on Broadway.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 12:17pm

This isn't a "pre Broadway" production. This is a regional tryout, much the same as LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA had at Seattle's Intiman Theatre.

If the show is a hit in Pasadena it will surely be further developed, but nobody involved is expecting this to just directly transfer to New York. And yes, of course, they would go for bigger names for a Broadway production. The film and the musical were designed as a star vehicle.

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 9/10/06 at 12:17pm

Not every show has to have a big name to be sucessful you know, it depends on the quality of the show.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 11:26am

There's some pretty positive comments about the show on ATC.

[jaesdare]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 3:54pm

the music is great, it's more disco than motown. it's so much fun, al la mixture of hairspray, dreamgirls, etc.,

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 3:57pm

I love Dawnn Lewis. She seems like a great choice for the part.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 2:06am

I'll see it in two days. Apparently they are selling out the tickets, so the buzz is good for this show.
Updated On: 10/24/06 at 02:06 AM

[GhettoBway]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 3:19am

This will be going to Atlanta in Jan so if it does well there broadway may follow.

[DG]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 4:18am

"it's more disco than motown"

We see it Sunday - even have friends in the cast - but this made me wince a little . . .

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 8:47am

Is DISNEY involved with this?

[sondhead]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 2:46pm

Only as a licensing agent.

I went last night expecting it to be so-so at best, but ESPECIALLy for during the first week of performances of the first full production, it was really great. It's definitely the best Menken score in years. It's very enjoyable. The disco-ness opened up dance opportunities that were super-cute.

However, unless she was sick, Deloris is going to have to be replaced. She went into a weak falsetto every time the part went high and I so wished she had been belting and bringing excitement to her wonderful material.

[mallardo]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 2:59pm

I saw it last night and it IS a great show. It has HIT written all over it. Wonderful score from Menken and great lyrics from Glenn Slater, I mean REALLY great - smart, funny, appropriate, full of surprising wit - up there with Yazbeck and Zippel.

But I agree with some about the cast. They will need names and they will need better voices from the leads. Only David Jennings as the cop and Beth Malone as the shy sister have real Broadway level voices. The music makes demands that Dawnn Lewis and Elizabeth Ward Land (especially) can't meet.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 10/29/06 at 3:40pm

I heard that Jennifer Leigh Warren audition for Deloris part. She has a big voice and certainly can hit high notes (listen to her in Big River CD) but the creative team picked Dawn. Of course I didn't see Jennifer's audition, so I'm only speculating, but they went for comedy acting skills rather than singing skills, perhaps?

[sondhead]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 10:19am

I really want to hear the songs again!! Does anyone know of any recording of the score?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 10/30/06 at 5:20pm

I have a hard time imagining Dawnn Lewis being replaced, unless they can find a bigger name than her for the role.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:07am

Question:
Does the show keep the song arrangements form the movie in addition to the Menken score (Hail Holy Queen, I Will Follow Him, etc)? And does the score add more of these numbers where the nuns sing contemporary music as if they were hymns? I LOVE these songs in the movie.

[erikaamato]

Posted: 10/31/06 at 2:34am

None of the songs from the movie are in the musical. It's all new (and in my opinion, great) material.
Updated On: 10/31/06 at 02:34 AM