{"id":111855,"date":"2026-06-22T21:04:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=111855"},"modified":"2026-06-22T21:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:07:07","slug":"6th-st-playhouses-sister-act-offers-feel-good-musical-about-fake-nun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/6th-st-playhouses-sister-act-offers-feel-good-musical-about-fake-nun\/","title":{"rendered":"6th St. Playhouse\u2019s \u2018Sister Act\u2019 offers feel-good musical about fake nun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nuns, shown here as convent chorus in Sister Act, provide cover for Deloris Van Cartier, who\u2019s fleeing murderous gangsters. Photo by Eric Chazankin.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

By WOODY WEINGARTEN <\/strong><\/p>\n

After an astoundingly exciting, fast, feel-good first half of Sister Act<\/em>, the 21 performers at the 6th St. Playhouse in Santa Rosa couldn\u2019t quite transcend the slightly slower pace in Act II that the script prescribed.<\/p>\n

But that was the only<\/em> visible flaw in the 2\u00bd-hour production. In fact, almost every element of the musical-comedy was superlative:<\/p>\n

\u2022 The smoothly movable set, designed by Laurynn Malilty, was of Broadway quality, better than any seen in the Bay Area in years. Depiction of the inside of a convent was pinpoint perfect, down to the tiniest detail, and all the other backdrops were equally well thought out and constructed.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Deloris Van Cartier, the role made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1992 Sister Act<\/em> film as she became a fake nun while hiding from murderous gangsters, is exquisitely filled by Majesty Scott. She\u2019s a quadruple threat who\u2019s obviously mastered singing, acting, comedy, and dancing.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Costumes co-designed by Barbara Page and Carolyn Bartlett, sensationally ranged from quietly spiritual to in-your-face glitzy. All of them add to a theatergoer\u2019s amusement.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tracy Hinman skillfully depicted the Mother Superior, wearing her emotions \u2014 from disdain to a loving acceptance \u2014 on the sleeves of her habit.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Choreography by Jorey Cantu guaranteed smiles on the faces of audience members. It featured tons of snappy hand movements and even a low-kicking nun\u2019s chorus line.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chase Thompson was amazingly rubber-legged and rubber-armed while dancing as T.J., a thug. It was impossible to not <\/em>laugh at \u2014 and appreciate \u2014 his exaggerated, comedic body movements.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Most folks weren\u2019t likely to leave the Santa Rosa theater singing any of the unfamiliar songs (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater), despite some of the 19 musical numbers being incredibly bouncy or remarkably melancholy. The eclectic score nevertheless successfully moved the storyline by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner along, silly and predictable as it was.<\/p>\n

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Majesty Scott portrays hiding lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier. Photo by Eric Chazankin.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\u2022 Chorus members were mostly cheery, a contagion that spread throughout the packed audience, and soloists were so strong the crowd reacted with frequent wild applause and occasional screeching. Especially memorable were Andrew Cedeno singing \u201cI Could Be That Guy\u201d as Eddie Souther; Isiah Carter as Curtis Jackson, mobster chieftain (\u2018When I Find My Baby\u2019); and Hannah Passanisi as Sister Mary Robert (\u2018The Life I Never Led\u2019) \u2014 plus, of course, Majesty Scott as Deloris (the title tune) and Tracy Hinman as Mother Superior (\u2018Haven\u2019t Got a Prayer\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u2022 The eight-member band in the pit, led by music director and keyboardist Ginger Beavers, played at just the right level so the sound didn\u2019t overshadow any of the individual singers.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Director Megan Bartlett, along with stage manager Celina Kegerreis, tracked everything at once during rehearsals, then shattered the chaos by helping each performer be precisely where he\/she\/they were supposed to be.<\/p>\n

Put all those positive talking points together and what do you end up with? An exceptional show that fulfills its promise to entertain and let theatergoers have fun, all the while managing to ignore the constant Breaking News.<\/p>\n

Sister Act<\/em> will run through June 27 at the 6th St. Playhouse, 52 W. 6th St., Santa Rosa. Tickets: $31.95 to $55.95. Info: (707) 523-4185 or boxoffice@6thstreetplayhouse.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sherwood \u201cWoody\u201d Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or on his websites, https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>and\u00a0https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a>. His books include Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner\u2019s breast cancer, <\/em>aimed at<\/em> male caregivers;\u00a0MysteryDates \u2014 How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of his newspaper columns; and\u00a0Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that he co-authored with his then 8-year-old granddaughter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WOODY WEINGARTEN After an astoundingly exciting, fast, feel-good first half of Sister Act, the 21 performers at the 6th St. Playhouse in Santa Rosa couldn\u2019t quite transcend the slightly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-woody-weingarten"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"