I cannot believe that, after 30 weeks of rehearsals, the curtain finally came down on our last performance of Sister Act the Musical, but what an amazing week it was.
Show week started at 8am on the Saturday morning, when the biggest truck we had ever seen arrived from UK Productions. Just under 12 hours later, our team of 12 ‘willing volunteers’, ably assisted by Tom from UK Productions, had the Queen of Angels church built in the Performing Arts Centre. In the meantime, Melissa, Angela and the wardrobe team were making sure that all the cast had a final fitting for all their costumes. On Sunday, Graham, Simon and Kevin Taylor designed the lighting plot. Will set up the sound and the 11-piece orchestra attended a band call with the Principals. On Monday morning, the ‘final piece of the jigsaw’ was added. Our 4.5-metre illuminated Sister Act sign, which was lovingly made by Paul and Will over many weeks, was hung in the foyer. This would not have been out of place in any West End Theatre.
This year, we had two dress rehearsals due to the complexity of the scenery and costumes, which, on reflection, was a great decision. This also allowed Mark Heath and his daughters, Bethany and Rebecca, who are our official group photographers, the opportunity to take some brilliant photographs and video. You can view high-resolution photos, and some video excepts from the show, by clicking on the following link:
Photos and videos from Sister Act the Musical
View Abi Mann performing “Sister Act” at our dress rehearsal by clicking on the play button icon below.
As the show had sold out approximately one month before, excitement levels were high for opening night, and what an opening night it was! The cast, crew and orchestra all combined to deliver a truly West End experience, above and beyond expectations. This performance level was maintained all week and I have been overwhelmed with texts, phone calls and emails from audience members who were ‘blown away’ by the show.
It would be unfair to single out any individual performances, as every member of the cast performed at an incredibly high level. This made us feel both emotional and proud.
The four performances went so quickly and the final curtain call on Saturday evening came far too soon. With a tinge of sadness, the scenery came down, to be packed back into the truck, ready for its delivery to Southampton. The Performing Arts Centre was returned to its original state and it was as if we had never been there when we left at 2.15am on Sunday morning.
As the curtain falls on one show, work starts on the next, and already we are starting to plan ahead for our 15th Anniversary show – Grease the Musical – which will be on stage from the 10th to the 13th April 2019.
I hope that we can attract a cast of 70+ and information about the pre-show workshops, which take place on the 19th and 26th June 2018, will be found on this website shortly.
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