Sister Act / Catch Me If You Can

Why do some movies make good Broadway shows while others miss the mark? Sister Act, based on the Whoopi Goldberg movie, is refreshing and entertaining while Catch Me If You Can, adapted from the popular Leonardo Dicaprio - Tom Hanks movie is glossy, but bland.

Sister Act

Sister Act is the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a would-be nightclub singer who witnesses a murder. So she is placed in witness protection in a struggling convent. The story is a typical one. In this case, it’s the aggressive, mouthy singer (a vibrant Patina Miller ) and the Mother Superior (the wonderful Victoria Clark.) Predictably there’s humor as the two clash when Deloris and her worldly ways jar with the spirituality of the nuns.

Miller is sassy, with a swagger and brassy attitude. Clark is genuinely funny, sings beautifully and acts convincingly. She also has many of the plays funniest lines. We genuinely like these characters as well as the other nuns and even the goofy henchmen sent to find Deloris.

Unlike the movie, the show gently mocks the nuns and the church, especially when they sing about their favorite part of being nuns. There are sight gags, such as when the bishop runs the church service like a TV show. The movie used actual familiar music since Deloris is a singer who later leads the church choir; however, the Broadway musical has all original music, and some with very clever lyrics (thanks to music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater).

The night I attended the show, 180 middle school children on a school trip from San Diego sat in the audience in rapt attention watching the performance. That says something about the show right there. Sister Act is fun, family - friendly and entertaining.

Catch Me If You Can

Based on a true story about Frank Abagnale, Jr., Catch Me if You Can is the musical version of a young con man who passes himself off as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, etc, while amassing close to $2,000,000, all before he is 21. The fascination of this true story is how this young man managed to elude the authorities for so long despite the dogged pursuit by an FBI agent, Carl Hanratty (Norbert Leo Butz)