How I Got the Calling Lyrics – Sister Act The Musical

Song Overview

How I Got the Calling lands in Act I of Sister Act as a comic confessional for the convent. On the Original London Cast Recording, Mary Patrick and Mary Lazarus trade origin stories before Deloris bluffs her way through one of her own. The track appears on the London album first issued in 2009 and later distributed digitally by Ghostlight in 2011. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Review and Highlights

Menken writes a breezy, vaudeville-adjacent patter number that lets the nuns roast themselves with affection. The orchestration clicks along with pit winds and rhythm section, spotlighting quick setups and punchlines. Crucially, the song folds in Deloris, who spins an improvised testimony that almost sells until the details go gloriously sideways. On record, the interplay between Claire Greenway, Julia Sutton, Katie Rowley Jones, and Patina Miller clicks like a seasoned sketch troupe. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Creation History

Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater built the London score in 2009 for the Palladium premiere, with Patina Miller originating Deloris and Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior. The London number list places How I Got the Calling mid Act I, a slot later rethought for Broadway where this song was dropped. The album material was issued by Stage Entertainment UK and later via Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom in March 2011. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

After Deloris is hidden in the convent for her safety, the sisters trade testimonies about how they “got the calling.” Mary Patrick’s is sugar high and sincere. Mary Lazarus counters with gallows humor. The ensemble chimes in with quick-fire mini tales ranging from kitschy miracles to wardrobe revelations. Then Deloris, cornered, riffs a tall tale that sounds holy until it name-drops pop culture and nightlife. The button sets up the community’s next collision with Deloris’s truth telling. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Song Meaning

The number pushes two ideas. First, faith stories are often messy and personal. Second, Deloris doesn’t yet belong, so she borrows the language to survive. The mood stays fizzy, but the subtext is serious - belonging, performative piety, and the difference between a life that’s chosen and a story that’s sold.

Annotations

“Mary Patrick”

The role often reads as bright, buoyant, sometimes played by a plus-size actor. The lyric leans into appetite and warmth, which the arrangement mirrors with upbeat swing and crisp woodwinds.

“Sargeant Pepper”

The gag riffs on the urban legend of hearing messages when spinning records backward - here, the Beatles’ 1967 studio landmark Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The line plants the show in a pop-literate universe where sacred and secular mishear each other.

“Psoriasis”

Another quick comic beat: a skin condition “healed” after prayer. The lyric winks at the testimonial genre while keeping the tone kind.

“I had a revelation when I skipped my medication”

The rhyme is played for laughs, but it pokes at a real-world tangle between perceived spiritual experiences and untreated symptoms. The show doesn’t dwell - it breezes on before the joke turns mean.

“We’d go among the village... people...”

The Village People nod lands like a neon sign - the musical keeps threading disco-era references that later power Deloris’s choir makeover.

Style and rhythm

Genre blend sits between patter song and revue sketch. Short two-beat pickups set up jokes, with choral answers that feel like call and response in a parish hall. It’s brisk without rushing - and it leaves room for character business.

Emotional arc

From chipper sincerity to deadpan survival. By the final chorus, the sisters close ranks around Deloris anyway, and that’s the heartbeat of the show.

Historical touchpoints

Because the London production leans into 70s textures across the score, this number’s pop-culture debris field - Beatles, Village People, TV evangel vibes - sells the timeline while keeping the convent’s humor intact. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Key Facts

• Artist: Patina Miller with the Original London Cast of Sister Act
• Featured: Claire Greenway, Julia Sutton, Katie Rowley Jones, ensemble of nuns (London cast) :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
• Composer: Alan Menken
• Lyricist: Glenn Slater
• Release Date: June 27, 2009 (UK issue); March 22, 2011 U.S. digital distribution via Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
• Album: Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy - Original London Cast Recording :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
• Label: Stage Entertainment UK Ltd. original issue; U.S. release by Ghostlight Records/Sh-K-Boom :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
• Length: approx. 5:24 :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}
• Language: English with ensemble interjections
• Music style: comic patter with choral responses, pit orchestra
• Stage context: West End Act I number; omitted in the Broadway version :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

Questions and Answers

Who sings on the London cast recording?

Patina Miller leads alongside Claire Greenway, Julia Sutton, and Katie Rowley Jones, with the nuns’ ensemble answering throughout. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

Was this song in the Broadway production?

No. The West End list includes it in Act I; Broadway streamlined the slot, and this number was removed. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}

Is there an official upload?

Yes. Ghostlight’s “Provided to YouTube” post carries the London recording of the track. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}

How long is the track?

About 5 minutes 24 seconds on the London cast album. :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}

Where does it sit in the show’s arc?

It deepens the convent’s community before Deloris turns them into a choir capable of filling a church and saving the parish. :contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}

Awards and Chart Positions

Awards/Nominations: The London production that introduced this number earned multiple 2010 Olivier nominations, including Best Actress in a Musical for Patina Miller and a supporting nomination for Sheila Hancock. Choreographer Anthony Van Laast was nominated as well. :contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}

Album charts (UK): The Original London Cast album reached no. 8 on the Official Independent Albums Chart and no. 99 on the Official Physical Albums Chart in August 2009. :contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}

How to Sing How I Got the Calling

Vocal range & blend: Mezzo and alto lines sit comfortably in speechy mix. Keep vowels vertical for the patter, then widen for the ensemble payoffs.

Comedy beats: Let every micro-story land - one idea per breath. Button the joke, then release. Deadpan serves Mary Lazarus; buoyancy serves Mary Patrick.

Tempo & diction: Bright allegro. Consonants ride the front of the beat; avoid over-legato in the lists so the rhymes pop.

Ensemble craft: Choral answers should sound like one thought. Aim for crisp unisons, then open to light three-part harmony on the final refrain.

Additional Info

Ghostlight handled U.S. distribution of the London album in 2011. Multiple streaming platforms now carry the set, often tagged with 2009 copyright and 2011 digital release metadata. :contentReference[oaicite:18]{index=18}