Malverne theater embrace divine comedy

Sister Mary Clarence might not need a spotlight, and she might not need a crowd. She may not even need “the great wide world to shout my name out loud.”

But that’s exactly what one of Hollywood’s most famous nuns got last week — complete with lounge singers and mobsters — as Malverne Senior High School staged a summer production of “Sister Act.”

Based on the popular 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, director David Coonan brought together current and past students from his high school theatre program in putting a musical onstage for the second straight summer.

All of this started with a simple idea from Malverne school district superintendent Lorna Lewis. She thought the best way to tackle Covid-induced cabin fever during lockdowns was to stage outdoor plays.

“She’s a huge supporter of the theatre program,” Coonan said. “She is just a big fan of performance and theatre, and she really, really supports us.”

And Coonan required no convincing — he was already thinking of ideas the moment Lewis and district arts director Michael Messina approached him about the idea.

“We thought it was a really special event — and it was kind of like our return to live theatre after Covid,” Coonan said. “Doing an outdoor show allowed us to have an infinite number of people, and nobody had to worry about restrictions.”

Last year, the school district produced “Little Shop of Horrors,” the 1980s musical from the classic horror film of a man-eating plant raised by a Skid Row flower shop assistant. This time around, it was “Sister Act” — a musical adapted by Glenn Slater and Alan Menken about a lounge singer who must disguise herself as a nun to keep her safe long enough to testify against the mob.

“The storyline is pretty much the same (as the 1992 movie), but the music is all different,” said Bria Hydrick, who played lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier, who disguises herself as Sister Mary Clarence.

“I thought it was the perfect choice for an outdoor musical,” Coonan said. “It’s really high energy. It’s got a great story. And there’s even little edgy parts to it.

“We definitely have the talent in Malverne to be able to pull off a show that has this level of entertainment quality and difficulty.”

In looking for his cast, Coonan reached into his own network of Malverne alum, who in turn reached out to people they knew. He also turned to social media to bring Malverne alumni together.

“The planning process for the summer musical is definitely a lot shorter than the one that goes on during the school year,” said Stuart Oates, a Class of 2020 graduate, who portrayed Monsignor O’Hara. The turnaround time from first casting calls to the day of the musical was only about six weeks.

“Coonan just sent a call out to everybody,” Oates explained. “He said, ‘Hey we’re doing ‘Sister Act.’ Auditions are this day. If you know anybody who’s either a current student or an alumnus, come out and audition.’”

Aidan Adycki, an incoming Malverne High senior, portrayed Pablo, one of the thugs chasing after Deloris. He got the role after a rather interesting audition process.

“You show up at your time,” he said. “You’ll get a script and for this summer musical, (and) you got to choose your own song. For the regular school musicals, we do a song from the play. You sing and you read your lines, and you’ll find out what you got in a few days,”

Although she earned the lead role, Hydrick — who graduated from Malverne back in 2015 — said the decision to join the production at all was last-minute.

“I actually decided to (do) it the day of auditions,” she said. “I prepared for my audition that day and came and got this role.”

The musical gave plenty of laughs to the hundreds who brought out their blankets and lawn chairs to see it. And it’s something Sister Mary Clarence would certainly be proud of.

“As a sister and a friend, I’ll be a sister ‘til the end. And no one on this Earth can change that fact, I’m part of one terrific sister act.”