Singing on the Run

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Photo courtesy of HF High School Website

Practice makes perfect: The Sister Act cast practices in costume on stage. On Friday Nov. 10, the performance sold 693 out of 700 tickets.

Singing and dancing, gangsters and nuns. Four things that do not mix separately, but seem to work perfectly together in this story about a woman who just happens to stumble across a murder crime.

Performed last weekend in the H-F Mall Auditorium, Sister Act is about a club singer, Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses her gangster boyfriend murdering someone in an alleyway. A police officer then moves her into a convent for protection to avoid a mob, ran by her ex-boyfriend, that is hunting her.

While in the convent, she reluctantly joins the church choir and helps the off-key nuns become an energetic and passionate group that gains attention nation wide.

All in all, Sister Act is a brand new take on a classic movie.

Throughout the show, there was an array of hilarious jokes and funky songs.

The glitter-filled performance was directed by J.R.Rose, the English and Theatre teacher. Sister Act had multiple new gadgets that were used during the performance, such as LED panels.

“It is filled with a very talented cast, crew and pit orchestra, and the scenic technology will be like nothing we have seen on the H-F stage before,” Rose said.

Ron Bowden is the H-F Theater Technical Director, and Auditorium Manager and is in charge of all the technical elements of the show ranging from set design and lighting all the way to hair and makeup for actors and actresses.

“For me, this show has a lot of amazing elements, but one of my favorites has to be the choreography. Our choreographer, Ms. Mikols, does a great job not just creating the dance moves that the students learn, but she breaks it down so that every dancer, no matter the skill level, can perform and be successful,” Bowden said.

As Bowden helped create the beautiful behind the scenes work, one of the actors in the play, senior Joy Woods, was on stage as the lead, Deloris Van Cartier.

“I just sort of tried to embody what she means to me, and find what qualities we have in common and to portray them as honestly as I could,” Woods said.

As Woods portrayed the main character, junior Leanna Lewis was busy playing not one character, but two.

“As a nun in the musical, my part is more interpretive and I can do what I would like to it. So at first, I could be conservative with all the other nuns. Then we have to break out, and be weird and crazy to do our little singing parts,” Lewis said.

Sister Act has a unique storyline, but it also had a dedicated crew that was constantly working day and night to make the show the best it can be.

Junior Sheri Tarrer works on the crew, helping design the costumes. She loves being a part of theatre, no matter what part she plays in the show.

“I wanted to be in the show, but I didn’t get cast. So I wanted to do crew because as long as I’m in something with the show I’m happy,” Tarrer said.

Sister Act had many different people working to make it perfect. Junior Laila Malak played Sister Mary Robert, one of the younger and quieter nuns, and enjoyed creating the ideal personality for her character.

“Well, I think with everyone, no matter if you have a minor role or a lead role, there’s a character that you can relate to. For example, I’m Sister Mary Robert and her character is actually very similar to myself because she is kind of this shy quiet person who ends up breaking out of her shell with the help of her talented and close friends and so… I can bring a little touch of myself,” Malak said.

Overall, Sister Act is a moving machine of people, continuously progressing to make the show the best it could possibly be.