By Jake BOWMAN

“Sister Act” is a 1992 muscial comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. It is about a nightclub singer, Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a murder and is forced to hide out with a group of nuns. While hiding in the convent, Deloris takes charge of their choir group and helps them to create some truly memorable music. “Sister Act the Musical” is the theatre adaptation of the movie that made its debut in 2006 in Pasadena. With music by Alan Menken, who has scored numerous Disney animated films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast,” “Sister Act” has seen productions in the West End, on Broadway and through multiple world tours. The most recent production recently opened at CASA 0101 Theatre in Boyle Heights.

A small production, the cast and crew at CASA 0101 put forth an admirable effort in bringing this fast-paced comedy to life. The audience was often caught laughing at the antics of Curtis Jackson, played beautifully by Marco Infante, and his crew as they pursue Deloris Van Cartier (Jaquelin Schofield) to prevent her from testifying against them.

Unfortunately, the production overall is strained due to one glaring issue – pacing. At times the story was rushed and hard to understand and the rest of the time it was slow and dragging. The cast never really seemed to settle into a groove; whether this was a flaw in the production or opening night jitters remains to be seen.

While understanding that it is a musical, there seemed to be almost too much singing with little to no emphasis put on the moments between each song. Instead of these great character interactions and development that leads to a stimulating musical number, the audience is left bouncing from one song to the next with either glossed over or dragging interactions between.

Aside from some costume malfunctions, costuming and set design were well executed considering the size of the production. The costumes were fun and believable, notably the variety of beautiful sparkling dresses and the additions to the nun’s outfits that ended up showcasing their exciting transformations from boring to passionate singers. The set design was simple with the backdrop being the inside of a church but, thanks to lighting and some creative use of props, the crew was able to create believable multiple spaces.

Lighting was a little off cue, often leaving a person speaking in the dark or creating transitions that were slightly delayed. The space itself is small and the cast all used mics, which often meant that the sound was overpowering to the point of losing dialogue and lyrics, especially if there were multiple characters speaking or singing.

The opening night of “Sister Act” was not the strongest start to the planned five-week run but with some tweaks to lighting and sound, and the cast settling more into their roles, the production has the potential to be a very fun evening out.

Those in the area and looking to explore the local theatre scene, there is definitely some entertainment to be had at CASA 0101.

“Sister Act the Musical” runs through May 19 with shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $50 for general admission, $40 for students and seniors and $35 for Boyle Heights residents with ID. Visit Casa0101.org for tickets and more info.

  Jake BOWMAN