Countryside Community Theatre's “Sister Act" at the North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium -- July 5 through 13.
Saturday, July 5, through Sunday, July 13
North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium, 200 South First Street, Eldridge IA
Nominated for five 2011 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and based on the beloved comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, the tuneful and riotous Sister Act opens the Countryside Community Theatre summer season, the show's July 5 through 13 run at Eldridge's North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium demonstrating why the Associated Press deemed it “frothy, giggly, and yet often poignant,” as well as “a musical that hits all the right spots, achieving something close to Broadway grace.”
With its music by multiple Oscar and Tony winner Alan Menken, Sister Act finds Deloris Van Cartier an aspiring disco diva in Philadelphia, where she is auditioning to perform at the nightclub of her gangster boyfriend Curtis. After Curtis tells her that she's not ready for “the big time,” Deloris decides to break up with him – but when she goes to find him, she accidentally witnesses the man killing one of his cronies. Deloris consequently runs to the police, who place her in hiding at a convent until Curtis is brought to trial. At first, Deloris, disguised as a nun, chafes against the constraints of convent life and its immovable Reverend Mother. But after she's introduced to the struggling choir at the convent, everything changes. She finds that many of the nuns at the convent are not that different from her and actually quite fun to be around, and as they help Deloris discover her true purpose, the sisters show her a genuine love and affection that was missing in her life. Filled with powerful gospel music, outrageous dancing, and a moving story, Sister Act is a sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, with the New York Daily News calling it “a feel-good crowd-pleaser worth celebrating.”
Directing Sister Act for Countryside is Courtney Cooper, who previously appeared in productions of Godspell and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella for Muscatine's New Era Dinner Theatre, with additional members of the musical's creative team including: assistant director/stage manager Presley Reimers; music director Jeremy Weinstein; vocal music director Emily Martyka; pit director George Behnke; technical director Ryan Stickler; choreographer Emma Logas; lighting designer Hope Harrison; props designers Emma Krostlik and Haidyn Koberg; costume designers Sue Boedeker and Becky Esbaum; sound designer Hannah Griffin; and producers Kimberly Calhoun and Kim Hewlett.
Harmoni Eiland portrays the vocal powerhouse Deloris Van Cartier, with familiar area talent Yvonne Siddique as Mother Superior and Haley Tromblee, Jenni Colbert, and Kim Feuerbach, respectively, as beloved Sister Act Sisters Mary Robert, Mary Lazarus, and Mary Patrick. Additional favorites in this musical comedy are played by: Lonnie Behnke; Jerod Samuelson; Antonio Martinez; Tyler Giglio; Tony Dexter; Hunter Haller; Jen Lineback; irginia Kelly; Lauren Casillas; and Mark Meyer. And completing Countryside's gifted Sister Act ensemble are: Maggie Kelly; Ticia Balsar; Katharine Mulfinger; Andrea LaPage; Sophia Boldt; Amy Gaghagen; Kate Holsen; Tammy Sandercock; and Bonita Howes.
Countryside Community Theatre's Sister Act runs at Eldridge's North Scott High School Fine Arts Auditorium July 5 through 13, with performances Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is $20, and more information and tickets are available by visiting CountrysideQC.org.
