You don’t have to believe in the second coming to have faith the latest musical in Maine State Music Theatre’s fabulous season will have you praising the angels (and perhaps the devilish characters, too) of “Sister Act.” Yes, sing glory hallelujah — unless you lack soul in every sense of the word, you will quickly become a believer in this show.

“Sister Act,” like MSMT’s season opener, “The Full Monty,” is a Broadway hit based on a film — in this case the 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. The premise of “Sister Act” hinges on nightclub singer Doloris staying alive after seeing her crime boss boyfriend, Curtis, murder a mob infiltrator.

The Philly police put Doloris into witness protection by hiding her in a convent in a hardscrabble diocese. Much of the comedy in this laugh-out-loud production derives from that blatantly mismatched placement.

Trying to fit a flamingo among the penguins isn’t easy, despite the mother superior’s best efforts to tame her — or at least help her fit in with the not-soserene sisterhood. Some of the performance’s most comedic moments involve the interplay between streetsmart Doloris and her less streetwise convent counterparts.

Doloris, renamed Sister Mary Clarence, fills in as choir director. Using her God-given talent — some of which is hidden under that habit — Doloris turns the Masses into musical theater, packing the pews and hardly staying on the sweet and lowdown.

Diminutive Trista Dollison, in her purple stack boots, more than fills the big shoes Goldberg created on screen. Her Doloris fills the stage with just the right level of outrageousness to keep the humor light and the melodies heavenly. Just like the lyrics of one of the opening songs, she is “Fabulous, Baby.”

Her brassy confident Doloris shines like a silver cross at a child’s first communion; it’s a light she just can’t hide once she’s inside the abbey. As Sister Mary Clarence she bursts forth with a sweetness that streams like sun through a stained glass window.

When not sharing a duet with Dollison, Mary Jo McConnell rules the stage and the convent as Mother Superior. With a witty, sharp tongue, she slices dry retorts to Doloris’ pleas for escape from the stifling nunnery while trying to convince the worldly girl of her need to reform.

In a much friendlier and still funny manner, the rest of the sisters welcome Doloris back into fold.

Meanwhile Curtis, played by the extremely talented Kingsley Leggs, and his three goons are on the hunt to find Doloris. The trio provides comic relief; watch for scene stealer Nik Alexander hamming it up as Curtis’ nephew, T. J.

As with the liturgical consistency of a Catholic Mass, it is easy to take the music, the stage dressing and the costumes for granted — but that would be a sin. The MSMT crew always delivers the magical transformation of notes on a page, splashes of paint and a few sequins into something divine. Jeff Hendry must have had a grand time designing splashy bedazzling show costumes for a religious order — and a mid-solo costume change is nothing short of a miracle.

Despite music by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, both known for their award winning work for Disney, and the crisp conducting of Jason Wetzel in his ninth season at MSMT, the songs in Sister Act aren’t memorable ones to whistle at home. But in the rapturous moments the musical is live on stage, you will get swept away thanks for the deft directorship of Donna Drake.

As Doloris tells the sisters: to “get the rafters ringing is the No. 1 rule of singing.” By God, she and the rest of the talented cast certainly do that.

Do not abstain from seeing this wonderful show — performances run through July 11 at MSMT. For ticket information and more, visit msmt.org.

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