For actress Hollis Resnik, donning the habit is getting to be (wait for it), a habit. Not to fear: Chicago’s premiere leading lady isn’t forsaking the stage for Holy Orders. But as the Mother Superior in Marriott Lincolnshire’s “Sister Act,” Resnik returns to a character she inhabited for a good two years. The crowd-pleasing musical, based on the 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, toured the country from 2010 through 2012 with Resnik as the head nun. But it would be a sin to claim there’s anything stale or habitual about the Marriott’s singing nuns.
“Yes, it’s a role I’m really familiar with,” Resnik confesses, “but this is a whole different production — different people, much different stage.” Indeed, Marriott’s in-the-round intimacy means the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith will be within ruler-whapping distance to audience members crinkling candy wrappers or checking their cell phones during the show. New York-based director Don Stephenson is at the helm of award-winning composer/lyricist Alan Menken’s creation. Stephenson, the son-in-law of the late, great composer Frank Loesser (“Hello Dolly”), makes his Marriott debut.
“Who doesn’t like to watch dancing, singing nuns?” Stephenson says. “I mean really, that’s just something that’s inherently crowd-pleasing.”
Set in 1978, the show follows the escapades of Deloris Van Cartier, (Stephanie Umoh), a wise-acre broad and aspiring recording star who favors micro-minis, sequined tube tops and garish nightclubs. She’s forced into hiding with the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith after witnessing her no-good gangster boyfriend murder a snitch.
The fish-out-of-water plot takes flight as the bawdy Deloris clashes with the cloistered lifestyle. Once she takes charge of the nun’s anemic choir, things change — the sisters start bellowing Vegas-worthy showstoppers and transforming their habits into spangly show garments.
Stephenson, 51, finds himself reveling in the late-1970s disco-fab aesthetic that informs the show. “This was the era of ‘Soul Train’ and the Jackson Five, and Diana Ross and ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and blasting the BeeGees on the eight-track,” he recalls. “I remember wanting to be Michael Jackson, so badly, back then. Or one of the BeeGees. There was a debauchery to the era, but there was also an innocence to it.”
Umoh, 30, wasn’t alive for the Jackson Five’s joyful noise, but she’s had “Soul Train” episodes in heavy rotation on her phone since being cast. The role of Deloris is a departure for her: Umoh’s career thus far has been defined by heavy-duty dramatic roles, including a stint on Broadway as Sarah in “Ragtime,” the title character in Drury Lane’s 2011 staging of “Aida,” and as Nettie in Milwaukee Repertory’s 2014 staging of “The Color Purple.”
“It’s not that ‘Sister Act’ is less difficult or emotionally taxing as something heavier, like ‘Ragtime’,” she says, “but it’s definitely different. Deloris is this big, booming character who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Or have fun.”
Learning to speak your mind and finding your own true voice are themes that pulse through “Sister Act”.
“Standing up for yourself, finding you pride in yourself, being true to your heart — these are all things ‘Sister Act’ touches on,” says Umoh. “And it’s about not judging people by their looks as well.” Deloris, she points out, is a brassy, street-smart vixen whose work clothes tend toward stripper heels and dollar-store earrings only slightly smaller than hubcaps. In short, she’s not somebody you’d think has anything in common with a passel of middle-aged celibates.
“Deloris and Mother Superior go on a journey together,” says Resnik. “In the end, you see that it doesn’t matter how different they look or how different their lives are. They develop an appreciation, and a love for each other.”
“This is one of those shows where you can just come, have fun, and laugh,” adds Stephenson. “But if you want, you can also peel things back a bit, and see that yes, there is something deeper inside.”
As far as outside appearances go, Stephenson stresses, nobody should come into “Sister Act” expecting a parade of drab habits. “Think nuns but in a Vegas floor show. In the late 1970s. You can’t get much more ridiculously flashy than that.”
‘Sister Act’
When: Feb. 10- April 3
Where: Marriott Lincolnshire, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire
Tickets: $50-$55
Contact: 847-634-0200; www.MarriottTheatre.com
