As the curtain prepares to rise on “Sister Act” at the Seminole Theatre in Homestead, two local Key Players actors are busy perfecting their singing numbers and brushing up on their lines.
Preparing for any show is a major time commitment, but making the trip up to the mainland several times a week for rehearsals requires added dedication.
“It just shows you how much we all must really be crazy or really love the theater, one or the other,” said Rhonda Crutcher with a laugh.
Crutcher is the drama teacher at Marathon High School and has been active in the Key Players for six years. Since May, she and fellow Key Players actor Cristina Salvesen have been making the trip to Homestead for rehearsals three to four times a week.
“It’s a little tougher on Cristina, because she has a real day job. I’m a teacher, so I’m off in the summer,” Crutcher said.
“It’s a lot of planning your day and making sure that you leave work at the time you have to leave work so that you can eat, then drive up and then rehearse and then go home, take a shower, go to bed and rinse and repeat for the next day,” Salvesen said.
It’s a juggling act for Salvesen, who works as an architect and scuba instructor in Key Largo.
“Sister Act” is a Tony-nominated musical comedy based on the hit 1992 film. The plot revolves around a nightclub singer who witnesses a murder. In order to escape the mob, she hides in a place no one would ever think to look, a convent. While there, she helps the nuns find their powerful singing voices.
“I think this is the biggest production I’ve been a part of,” said Salvesen of the musical that includes a cast of 26 actors.
Salvesen has been with the Key Players for seven years, but this is a different experience.
“It’s almost like a Broadway-level-type production in terms of you have to sing and dance and perform, big movements and all these things on stage,” she added.
Crutcher is the first to admit that dancing is not her thing.
“I always tell people I got into theater so I can stand on stage and sing, but I don’t want to move while I’m doing it,” she said.
Both women say “Sister Act” is sure to get audience members out of their seats and on their feet, singing and dancing along.
“I think every song in this show is a banger; they’re all fantastic,” said Crutcher.
“Because it’s set in the ’70s, there’s a lot of disco vibes,” added Salvesen. “No one can sit still with disco music; it shakes you and makes you move.”
The show also features a live band.
“Everything is coming together. The set is looking really nice, the lights and the stage and the choreography and the singing. I think it’s going to be really enjoyable for everybody, from all ages,” Salvesen said .
“Sister Act” opens at the Seminole Theatre in Homestead on Friday, July 18. There will be a total of six performances over two weekends. More information on show times and tickets is at seminoletheatre.org.
