Take Me to Heaven (Reprise) Lyrics - Sister Act The Musical

Song Overview

Take Me To Heaven (Reprise) is the moment the parish hears the new sound. Monsignor Howard introduces the choir; Deloris flips the switch from Latin chant to floor-filling pop, and suddenly the church has a crowd again. The track is preserved on the Original London Cast Recording and appears in full on streaming services and an unofficial album upload, with the London principals in place.

Review and Highlights

The reprise is a bait and switch that never gets old. We start with a clean slice of Marian Latin, then Deloris counts off, the backbeat lands, and the sanctuary becomes a showroom. Alan Menken leans on 70s club language - octave bass, bright guitars, stacked “ooh baby” pads - while Glenn Slater’s lyric walks the holiness line with sly double meanings that read as praise and stage patter at once. The Monsignor’s reaction in the book turns from worry to delight the second the pews fill up.

Creation History

London Palladium, June 2009: Patina Miller headlines as Deloris, with Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior, Katie Rowley Jones as Mary Robert, and Ian Lavender as Monsignor Howard. The cast album followed that summer in the UK and later received a U.S. digital release via Ghostlight in March 2011. The reprise locks the show’s thesis - sacred community revived by secular sound - and set up the avalanche of news coverage inside the story.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Deloris has coached the nuns into a choir that can actually groove. The reprise is their first public test at Mass. Monsignor gives them the floor, Mother Superior braces for disaster, and the congregation - and then the neighborhood - shows up mid-song. Inside the narrative, this is the first proof that Deloris’s approach can save the parish.

Song Meaning

It’s an argument for translation. Keep the prayer, change the rhythm, meet people where they live. The gospel of this number is practical: music that welcomes bodies can also open wallets and doors. The lyric flirts with pop romance while the setting, a church service, reframes the language as praise.

Annotations

“MONSIGNOR”

An honorific for certain priests. Inside the scene he’s institutional authority - and the first to clock the crowd effect.

“Sister Mary Clarence”

Deloris’s witness protection name. When the Monsignor announces her, he legitimizes the makeover she’s leading.

“Benedicta tu... benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus”

Latin for “blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” Menken sets it straight, then flips the switch to pop.

“Voulez-vous prier avec...”

French for “will you pray with...,” a little MC flourish that sells the bit as a show within the service.

“Take me to heaven”

In the reprise, the same title hook becomes civic evangelism. The congregation hears praise; the press hears spectacle. Both are true.

Style and instrumentation

Two halves: polyphonic chant leading to a four-on-the-floor bounce. Rhythm section and handclaps do the heavy lifting, while the nuns’ unisons widen to bright triads on the tags.

Emotional arc

Start - reverent. Turn - mischievous. End - exultant and a little chaotic, with Mother Superior fuming while donations pour in.

Key Facts

• Artists: Katie Rowley Jones, Patina Miller, Sheila Hancock, Ian Lavender, and the Original London Cast
• Composer: Alan Menken
• Lyricist: Glenn Slater
• Release Date: June 27, 2009
• Album: Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy - Original London Cast Recording
• Label: First Night/Stage Entertainment UK (UK 2009); U.S. digital via Ghostlight Records in March 2011
• YouTube audio ID: 3hDv4YIl7iw
• Stage context: Act I Mass performance that draws a crowd and media attention
• Language: English with Latin chant intro

Questions and Answers

Who’s on the London recording of the reprise?

Katie Rowley Jones, Patina Miller, Sheila Hancock, Ian Lavender, and the London company under the “Original London Cast” billing.

Is there an official upload?

The reprise streams on major services; a commonly referenced upload of the London album sequence also circulates on YouTube.

Where does this sit in the show’s arc?

It’s the first Mass where Deloris’s choir sound hits the congregation, pulling people in off the street and shifting the Monsignor’s stance.

Was the cast album recognized on the charts?

Yes. In August 2009 the Original London Cast album peaked at no. 8 on the UK Official Independent Albums Chart and no. 99 on the Official Physical Albums Chart.

Who originated Monsignor Howard in London?

Ian Lavender, announced with the original 2009 cast led by Patina Miller and Sheila Hancock.

Awards and Chart Positions

Production honors: The London production that introduced this track launched with the 2009 cast and later, as the property moved to Broadway, the show earned multiple Tony nominations; London principals like Sheila Hancock also drew 2010 Olivier recognition.

Album peaks (UK 2009): No. 8 - Official Independent Albums Chart; No. 99 - Official Physical Albums Chart; four weeks on the Independent tally across August 2009.

How to Sing Take Me To Heaven (Reprise)

Chant to pop switch: Keep the Latin intro unified and straight-tone, then release into bright, forward pop placement on the downbeat. The contrast sells the gag.

Lead vs. ensemble: Deloris functions like an MC. Leaders should ride the pocket and “speak-sing” the riffs; the nuns answer in tight unisons before blooming to triads on the last chorus.

Text handling: Double-entendre lines work because they’re sung with sincerity, not smirk. Let the groove be the joke.

Pacing: Keep the count-off clean, avoid ritards until the final tag so the crowd energy can build naturally.

Additional Info

Ghostlight’s 2011 U.S. release of the London album put this version of the reprise on wider digital shelves. Cast credits and track sequencing align with the 2009 UK edition.