Inside the Muncie Civic Theatre's performance of 'Sister Act'

by Arianna Sergio When Sister Act was released in 1992, the movie quickly became a massive hit. Grossing more than $231 million worldwide, it easily became one of the most popular comedy movies of the early '90s. Due to the movie’s success, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit was released shortly after on Dec. 10, 1993. Sister Act the Musical then made its world premiere in 2006 at the Pasadena Playhouse. Sister Act has been so popular to have even spawned Motown-inspired choral arrangements everywhere. Sister Act 3 is in the works and is set to release on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+. 

Sister Act the Divine Musical Comedy opened at Muncie Civic Theatre on MainStage Oct. 11-12, 18-20, and 24-26. The Thursday, Friday, & Saturday shows were at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday show at 2:30 p.m. This drew a lot of excitement within the community because it was Muncie Civic Theatre’s first time doing Sister Act. Sister Act the Divine Musical Comedy follows the story of lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier. Cartier witnesses her mobster boyfriend Curtis commit murder, so the police put her into the witness protection program. They did this to ensure her protection from Curtis and his entourage. Now under the alias Sister Mary Clarence, she winds up in a local Catholic church called Queen of Angels. After Mother Superior learns that she can sing—and actually sing well—she has her become the new choir director in hopes that she can improve the choir. Muncie Civic’s version of Sister Act was different from the other versions for a few different reasons. Director Dr. Thomas Conroy’s production had the band interact with the cast more, added more comedic moments in movement and dialogue, and the song order followed the original Broadway production with only one difference. That difference being that in Act 1, Muncie Civic added a reprise of “Here Within These Walls.”

“It’s always a great time to meet the new people,” said Myles Harris about all the newcomers and working with the cast. Harris played TJ, Curtis’ nephew who just follows him around for the thrill of it. This wasn't Harris’ first time in a Muncie Civic production. His first production was last year in West Side Story, and then shortly after in Tarzan.  “This is the first time I have done Sister Act. For me, it was learning a brand new role, which was an adventure and a journey in itself at 63 years old to learn a brand new role. I think that we really have gelled as a cast and it’s just really became a family, so I’ve made friends and family for life here,” said Kendra Cline, who played Mother Superior.  Cline described Mother Superior as a no-nonsense, tough leader of the Queen of Angels. She loves her sisters so much and just wants to protect them at the end of the day.  Cline is certainly no stranger to theatre, either. “I have done Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music numerous times, so I kind of have been in this role before, so I took that experience and Tom’s vision of her and kind of merged those together to come up with Mother Superior.” “When people come to see Sister Act they think ‘Oh, it’s nuns, it’s about Jesus,’ but it’s not. It’s about this woman who overcomes and realizes that she doesn’t need to be in the spotlight. She thought that that’s everything she longed to be, but then she found a relationship with all these people and I think that that’s what it shows. It shows unity,” said Ian Sanchez, who played Pablo. Pablo is a part of Curtis’ trio entourage, who plays the comedic relief and speaks mostly in Spanish during the show. Sanchez has also been a part of a past Muncie Civic production, with his role in West Side Story.  In the great words of Kendra Cline, “You should come and see us because we are fabulous, baby. We’re fabulous.”

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