It is like Sister Act II but instead of Whoopi Goldberg, there is the magnetic Anapela Polataivao, playing a formidable Samoan teacher sent to straighten out privileged Christchurch private school children.
I have accepted now that the St James Theatre is the place that I come to cry.
The film makes sure to touch on the most heartbreaking notes of the human experience, such as mental health issues, racism and grief.
It also reminds us of the devastation of the Christchurch earthquake, especially on lower-income neighbourhoods, which is something some of us (me included) in the North Island were lucky enough to forget.
Tinā and her choir of upper-class misfits work their pain out with music.
With the unbeatable timing of "Island" humour, this production is laugh-out-loud funny, too.
Hearing crystal-clear choir arrangements in a movie theatre, after laughing and crying your eyes out, and then crying again, is an experience I would highly recommend.
