High School Drama Club Performs "Sister Act"

On April 27, 28 and 29 the Plainview Old-Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School Drama Club performed its rendition of Bill and Cheri Steinkellner’s musical comedy Sister Act at the Plainview Old-Bethpage Middle School theater.

The show, led by Lexi Pinnata’s performance as Deloris Van Cartier and piloted by co-presidents Denise Zorer and Rachel Goerke, tells the story of a lounge singer who energizes a convent’s choir as she hides under the guise of a nun to avoid affiliation with a murder perpetrated by her lover.

Richard Olivari, sixth grade math and English teacher at Mattlin Middle School, continued his expertise as director of the show.

The musical’s cast consisted of 54 students who began rehearsals in late November. Lead role scenes were blocked first, with the ensemble beginning routine attendance in the later stages.

“It was a lot of long practice hours and intense rehearsals,” said Pinnata, a senior committed to attend the University of Miami. “It was all worth it in the end because I enjoyed every second on stage.”

“In March we moved to POB and began piecing together the show, and we were up to speed pretty quickly,” said Goerke, a senior committed to attend the University of Delaware. “We hit a few bumps…but all in all it was an extremely successful year.”

It is typical for members of the administration to attend or even participate in musicals in the Plainview school district. However, Sister Act was the first show in school history in which the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lorna Lewis, joined the cast.

“It couldn’t have worked out better that we had Dr. Lewis join the cast for this show,” said Goerke. “It gave everyone that extra bit of confidence that the school supports what we are doing in our program.”

She played the background role of a choir nun, in which she had a small singing line in the first act. Dr. Lewis has been dedicated to growing arts education in the district since she assumed the office of superintendent in 2012.

“Sharing the stage with Dr. Lewis was a unique experience that doesn’t happen at a lot of other schools,” said Pinnata. “I felt like I got to know her better and I enjoyed getting to perform with her.”

Throughout the course of the production process, the cast spent countless hours in close proximity. The students say the chemistry this year was different than in the past, and the closeness made a tangible difference.

“The cast this year really clicked for the first time in a while, and it really showed on stage,” said Zorer, a senior committed to attend San Diego State University. “You could tell how much we loved being there every day, doing what we love with the people we love.”

The next production by the Drama Club will be the fall play in November.