By Charlotte Mandy
Shawnee High School editor
From the moment the lights dim and the curtain rises to the final flourish, Sister Act is a production worth seeing, as Shawnee students “raise their voices” and show off their creative and comedic talent. The only things more dazzling than the costumes and 70s-style disco balls are the sheer time, effort and expertise put into this show.
Sister Act follows singer and aspiring star Deloris Van Cartier (Sophia Chryssofos, Jena Ziomek) who, after seeing her boyfriend Curtis (Jacob Engime, Christian Iannuzzelli) kill a man for having squealed on his mobster activities, must go into witness protection. At the suggestion of officer Eddie Souther (Sam Morrell, Scott Hoover), Deloris goes to the last place Curtis would expect to find her: a convent.
She must, for a time, exchange her sequinned persona of stardom and become a nun. However, even a habit and the tight grip of Orthodox Mother Superior (Jenna Giordano, Megan Bryan) cannot contain Deloris, and in hopes of taming her, Superior places Deloris in the church choir. Here, a previously mediocre music program is transformed into a performance fused with flare and enthusiasm, and the nuns and Deloris transform each other.
Sister Act is a steady stream of comedy and ovation-worthy singing, with some very strong characters and students who play them. In the words of Sophia Chryssofos, who plays Deloris in the closing cast and was previously involved in the Shawnee productions of Les Misérables, Oklahoma and Peter Pan, “Deloris knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to get it, but at the same time, she doesn’t let her goals get in the way of her family. She realizes and achieves her dream, but she knows her friends are there to ground her.”
In the same way, the show is a product of the combined hard work of the casts, ensembles, stage managers, stage crew, tech crew and the pit orchestra, under the direction of dedicated faculty. Director Gina. Kehl describes Sister Act as a “fun, uplifting show” that you will want to laugh and dance with, but most of all “a story about finding love and friendship in the most unlikely of places.”
See Sister Act on Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m., Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. The audience is guaranteed to be left humming the music on its way out.
The Renegade Report is the student news site of Shawnee High School.
