The downside is that, except for Ms. Malone and to a lesser degree Mr. Jennings, there really is zero drama or suspense or interest in what will happen to these characters. Ms. Lewis may be partly to blame, sometimes playing the caricature more than the character. More responsible, though, is Cheri and Bill Steinkellner’s Evelyn Wood-paced book. Or, more accurately, the economy that requires we not slow down to win hearts when it’s booty we’re after. One way to gain back a few of the show's 160-something minutes, however, would be to jettison the evening’s only musical sour note, a big bar scene number that doesn’t seem to realize whatever goals its creators had for it.
The show might also gain some depth if Shank were more menacing, towering over his goofy henchmen rather than getting lost amongst them. Imagine Shaft's Isaac Hayes, or even Richard Roundtree, for that matter. Such a presence would not only create ominous counter-balance to the dour Reverend Mother, but remove the need to demonstrate how dangerous he is in an awkwardly unfunny execution scene.
The eventual unity of the sister with the sisters is foreshadowed in David Potts beautifully efficient set. Stage rigging girders form the wishbone beams of this sanctuary’s capsized boat metaphor. Donald Holder’s lighting is heavenly, coming through the high upstage church windows without over-powering the front light. It also effectively finds the differences and similarities that let the minimalist stage shift quickly between nightclub and nave. It’s clearly Garry Lennon, however, who has the most fun. As outlandish as they look, his costumes aren’t that exaggerated. He also gets a tip of the hat for facilitating an onstage quick-change that would make David Copperfield envious. As expected from a pit full of ace musicians, the music is flawless, as is the evening’s evenly distributed sound.
While the final number is enough to leave the audience in a forgivingly funky state of mind, the thinness of the story makes one imagine it, in the way sequels of Menken’s Mermaid and Aladdin went straight to DVD, taking the sisters straight to Vegas.
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