Sister Act

Palace Theatre, Manchester

SHE was the queen of the night during her last stint in Manchester and now Alexandra Burke is queen of the convent in her latest musical venture.

Having received widespread acclaim for her role as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard when it made its whistle-stop tour earlier this year, the 28-year-old is back but this time swapping her high heels for a habit to take on the role of nun on the run Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act.

While the storyline broadly follows that of the 1992 hit comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, this updated musical version comprises an original score with fresh choreography and very cleverly combines the instrumentation with a stellar cast on stage.

If you haven't seen the film, club singer Van Cartier sees her controlling gangster boyfriend Curtis (Aaron Lee Lambert) commit murder, leading former school friend 'Sweaty' Eddie Souther (Jon Robyns) to arrange police protection for her.

She is then forced to go 'incognegro' in a 'penguin dress' while seeking refuge in a convent.

Despite a relatively slow start - added to a somewhat unfortunate 30-minute delay at the beginning due to a technical hitch - the show rises to heavenly proportions with Take Me To Heaven, I Could Be That Guy and The Life I Never Led among the stand-out songs.

It's an uplifting, feelgood, funny and visually strong production that deserves its standing ovation in the aisles and with her powerhouse voice shown off to its fullest, musical theatre is evidently Alexandra Burke's calling.

Add in Craig Revel Horwood's expertise as director and choreographer and this show was never going to be anything short of fabulous.

Sister Act runs at the Palace until Saturday but will be at the Liverpool Empire in October before returning to Manchester next July 24 to 29.