By Jackie Demaline
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The cast of Sing Hallelujah! (from left): DeWayne L. Woods, Erica Bratton-McCollough, Candy West, Russell Hinton and Anitra Castleberry. The Cincinnati Enquirer/MICHAEL SNYDER

The big Standing O is a commonplace occurrence in Cincinnati theaters - but not at the end of the first act.

Sing Hallelujah! is the rousing closer to Playhouse in the Park's season, and the exuberant gospel revue fits the mood at Playhouse these nights, where they're celebrating the good news about a Special Tony Award for Regional Theatre.

What pulled Thursday's opening night audience to its feet (for the first, but not the last time) was Russell Hinton's stirring rendition of "God Is" - so much so that you couldn't hear the final chorus for the loud applause and shouts of affirmation and appreciation. Now that's entertainment!

If word gets out, Hallelujah! could run all summer.

High-energy start

Hinton's showstopper shot the audience into the stratosphere, but they were already primed by a high-energy first act that arced from roof-raising to reverent and back again.

Five singers and a five-member orchestra are a wall of sound in the tiny Shelterhouse. Pulling them together into something worth remembering - the harmonies are luscious - are the song arrangements by Donald Lawrence. Wow is the word.

Lawrence also wrote more than half of the show's 20 songs, some that are going to last, some that aren't. "Didn't It Rain" is a musical parable of 40 days and 40 nights, "Good News" an a cappella invitation to put your hands together.

Swept up by gospel

The ensemble also does right by traditional hymns and gospel favorites. You can't help but get swept up in the island beat of "Shut De Door" and director Worth Gardner sends the company on a cartoony marathon chase across the stage and in and out of the theater in "Running for Jesus."

Sing Hallelujah! is a pure revue - no words, just songs. Erica Bratton-McCullough, Anitra Castleberry, Candy West and DeWayne L. Woods are all impressive, but it's West who brings the show home in numbers like a strutting "Oh Mary."

Squeezed space

Hallelujah! clips along at just under two hours with a 20-minute intermission and extended applause.

The only thing wrong with the show is that a piano and keyboard squeeze the performing space to a fairly narrow strip and without room to roam.

As a result, Gardner choreographs the cast facing the Shelterhouse's center section a lot of the time.

The energy is without question - this is one hard-working ensemble - but if you're sitting in a side section you're going to see more than your fair share of profiles.

It's still going to sound just fine. Tim Carpenter conducts a first-rate band of Morris Mingo, Reggie Graves, Michael Holloman and Allen Mabson.

Sing Hallelujah! runs through June 27 at Playhouse in the Park's Shelterhouse. For ticket information, call 421-3888.

E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com