Production

Sister Act - put the boogie into all our souls!

The Production team was thrilled when we got the rights to Sister Act! We sobered a little when we got the material and realised the complexity and volume of the libretto and script, then fully daunted when our cast size blew out to a whopping 63 students – that’s 40 more than the professional show! Just getting that volume of cast on to the stage is a challenge, let alone all the harmonies, costuming, rehearsal schedules, and dressing room allocations! But the result was DAZZLING!

The Year 12 VM and Year 11 Product Design classes delivered brilliant sets, under the leadership of Rod Mitchell and Liam Cusack and with plenty of glittering assistance from Julie and Amanda. The cars and confessional rocked and rolled, and the flying church windows and street signs soared! 

The backstage crew (Anthony, Jai, Toby, Zara, Charli and Charlotte) expertly managed the complex scene changes with speed and precision, and the tech crew ran the myriad lighting and sound cues with aplomb!

In the pit, 5 of our finest music students (Jett, Issy, Bernice, Steph and Reinette) kept pace with instrumental staff and other professional musicians, including our exacting music director Jack Hollander, as they navigated myriad vocal cues, and tempo and key changes.

Sister Act presented the irresistible and rare opportunity to feature many of our wonderful students in significant roles. Our talented cast certainly rose to the occasion!

The whole cast brought energy and excitement to the ensemble scenes, conquering the complex choreography, harmonies and blocking, and rocking all the deos!

The Fantasy Dancers smouldered with 70s glamour and disco grooves thanks to their dedication and talent, and the incredible choreography of graduating student Hayley.

The buffoonery of the criminal gang (Ryan, Lachie and Charlotte) tempered the malevolence of Curtis (Isaac) with brilliant incompetence and humour!

The murmur of nuns not only sang like a choir of angels (in Latin!) but also developed individual nun identities without overpowering the sense of ensemble – totally superfluicious! There were plenty of standout moments from individual nuns: the infectious optimism of Mary Patrick (Audrey), the laconic rap of Mary Lazarus (Jupiter), and the gravity-defying pipes of postulant Mary Robert (Aoife) were chief among them. Monsignor O’Hara (Hayley), while not a nun, brought delight and flamboyance to the conservative cloister. 

Sweaty Eddie (Peter), Mother Superior (Lexi) and Deloris Van Cartier (Marlea) were a trinity of superstars! All three gave us a masterclass in performance skills; their comic timing, pathos, vocal prowess and audience engagement were outstanding.

Thank you to everyone who came along to Karralyka to support and encourage the incredible talent and cohesion of our Norwood performing arts students this year, especially to all the Norwood Production alumni (some of whom came every night!). Sister Act had record high ticket sales and sold out completely on closing night; the thunderous standing ovation was what I call a joyful noise!

There is no doubt that Norwood’s 2026 production was, in the words of Sister Mary Lazarus (aka Jupiter), a ‘sactifunkadelic orgasmatron’ … and that’s a rap!