WMC has chosen Sister Act with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and the book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, for the musical that will be performed this year. Currently, the cast is working hard on rehearsing and building their characters over time. 

The musical is about a singer named Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a crime committed by her boyfriend and she needs to hide. She is later sent to a convent full of nuns who are willing to help her out. Unfortunately, at first, her personality doesn’t blend in very well with the religious community there, but she later tries to make connections with her music.

The cast list:

Role:                                             Student:

Deloris Van Cartier                       Anabelle Ortiz

Mother Superior                           Cara Kaminski

Eddie Souther                                Axel Barnett

Sister Mary Robert                       Abbie Theesfeld

Sister Mary Lazarus                     Lucy Mestrandrea 

Sister Mary Patrick                      Olivia Acosta

Sister Mary Martin of Tours      Elisa Castro

Sister Mary Theresa                    Riley Hench

Monsignor O’Hara                      Rishi Shah

Curtis Shank                                 Mikey Vespignani

TJ                                                    Matthew Berke

Pablo                                              Otis Brooks

Joey                                                Matt Kearstan

Ernie                                               Julian Ciacciarelli

Tina                                                Ellie Shannon

Michelle                                         Julia Bunnell

Featured Nuns                             Lucia Antonelle, Julia Bunnell, Jaime Cenziper, Layla

                                                        DeMayo, Madison Khuri, Ellie Shannon, Sammie Varela.

Ensemble                                       Shannon Baumann, Julian Ciacciarelli, Riley Fox, Kavya

                                                         Gupta, Priyanka Madathil, Daniel Ondish, Leah Pershaud,

                                                         Sophia Pulido, Elizabeth Purcell, Jenna Socolof.

Central Theater Director Dr. Agostin is excited to bring this show to life at WMC. “Sister Act is a different kind of musical than we’ve done since I started with Central Theatre, and it’s important to me to keep doing new things, not to ‘brand’ myself as always choosing one type of show” Dr. Agostin said.

 Dr. Agostin has many responsibilities with choosing who best fits the role and how to help students get the most out of the experience. “I enjoy many aspects of directing, especially working with the student actors and helping them find their characters and express their roles to the best of their ability and our collective imagination” Dr. Agostin concluded. 

Anabelle Ortiz who plays the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier is looking forward to playing a big part in the musical. “I’m really honored honestly. I’ve been part of the theater program for 4 years, so getting to finally get this kind of role is really cool because I always looked up to the upperclassmen” Ortiz said. 

Playing the lead role can definitely be time consuming but it is worth it in the end. There are many students who may look forward to auditioning and are too worried to do so. “Don’t be afraid because it is a lot of work. Go for it, especially if it’s your passion. What you put into it is what you get out” Ortiz said.

The show will run from March 12th through the 14th at WMC.  There will be four performances in total: Thursday night at 7:00, Friday at 7:00, and Saturday at 1:00 and 7:00.