‘Sister Act’ comes to the stage in Rogers City
by Richard Lamb–Advance Editor
Instead of an audition for a possible record deal, nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier becomes a witness to a possible murder. She seeks refuge at the police station and is put into witness protection at a place the thugs will not search—a convent. That sets the stage for the musical comedy “Sister Act” performed by the Rogers City Community Theatre starting Friday.
Deloris, played by Brittany VanderWall, is taken in by The Holy Order of the Little Sisters of Our Mother of Perpetual Faith. The sisters are played by Pennie Hoeft, Carrie Wilson, Ashley Nowicki, Donna Klein, Baylee Lijewski, Elaine Heidemann, Alison Marx, Charlotte Heidemann, Kathy Talaske, Ann Clapp and Darlene Nowicki. Lawrence Anderson plays the part of Monsignor O’Hara.
The police are played by Magnus Wilson and Jeff Kamyszek while the thugs are played by Robert Starnes IV, Austin Arkwood, Ed Perrault and Karl W. Heidemann. Karen Maher plays a hooker and waitress and Mike Marx plays a Philadelphia cabbie.
Jodi Kamyszek, who is the play’s director, says audiences will enjoy the talent on display at the theater. Musicals have traditionally drawn big crowds, and this one should be no exception, she said.
“It is a very large cast with all different age groups. I have been honored and pleased to work with everybody from the teens all the way up to people in their 70s in this play. We have wonderful local talent,” she said.
Although based on the motion picture starring Whoopie Goldberg, the play has original music and a slightly different plot than the Hollywood production.
“It follows the movie with a few different nuances. It is a different time period, based in the 1970s, the disco era,” the director said. “This will be well-received because it has such a great message. I don’t think anyone is going to walk out of here without a smile on their
Karl W. Heidemann is assistant director and musical assistant, Ashley Nowicki is choreographer, Val Schalk is producer and costume designer, and Maher is stage manager.
The tech crew is made up of Justice Cuddie, Noah Hanson, Riconda Lamb, Katy Conklin and Brooke Ganske.
Alan Menken wrote the music while Glenn Slater supplied the lyrics for the play based on a book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner.
The play opens Friday at 7:30 p.m. with performances Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Another set of performances hit the stage March 13-15.