Students in black and white rows line bleachers onstage, surrounded by a variety of actors in colored shirts, dresses, and pants. Students chat with each other, keeping themselves busy in a rare moment of break. “Quiet!” yells Leslie Holland Pryor to the student actors from the directors table in the middle of the auditorium.

This is the scene during one of the rehearsals during the week before the premiere of the Upper School Spring Musical, “Sister Act,” which took place on March 14, 15, 16, at 7 pm and on March 17 at 1 pm.

The decision to put on “Sister Act,” the musical adaptation, first on Broadway in 2006, of the 1992 film is about an aspiring performer who has to take refuge in a convent after witnessing a murder, was made by Head of the Music Department Sunnie Hikawa and department chair and director Leslie Holland Pryor. According to Holland Pryor, “Sister Act” was chosen because it is one of Hikawa’s favorite shows–and this was Hikawa’s last musical at Parker, as she is retiring in June.

“I was looking for a show that would feature women because I have a lot of females who participate in my program, and not so many guys,” Hikawa said. “I always look for a show that’s got a message that I feel like I can get behind, and I like to make sure that–we’re gonna spend about 6 weeks working on the music–that I feel like it’s worthwhile spending that much time on the music, that the music’s worth it. And as soon as I heard the first song, I knew that was the show for me.”

Although “Sister Act” is a comedy, there is some serious meaning too. “I think the musical has a lesson for Deloris,” Hikawa said, of the lead character, played by Hannah Kershner. “That she realizes that there is power in sisterhood and that by standing together with the other women in the cast, she could stand up to things that she was afraid of.”

The decision to put on “Sister Act” caught some students off guard. “I was not expecting it, but I’m not unhappy with the choice,” senior Kaden Florsheim, who played Curtis, one of the leads, said.  “I think it’s a good show.”

Kershner agreed. “I think it’s a really fun musical,” she said, “and while there’s not too many parts for boys, it’s still a really good musical for developing relationships with people.”

The humor of “Sister Act” was appreciated by the cast. “There’s a lot of funny lines,” freshman Ava Ori, who played Nun #8, said. “The whole plot and idea of it is really funny. You definitely learn to understand and respect the humor after a month and a half of rehearsals. My favorite is definitely all of the nun jokes.”

Seeing the actors in rehearsal laugh was a common sight throughout the process.

Usually leads go to upperclassmen, as was generally the case this year, but this is not always the case. Freshman Bella Charfoos played Sister Mary Patrick, which is an unusually large role for a freshman.  In last year’s musical, there was a freshman lead.

“I didn’t get it to start off with,” Charfoos said. “I got it because someone quit the play, so I kind of inherited the role, which was kind of fun, it was really exciting.  I was not expecting it at all.  I thought I was just going to read her lines for a day.” Charfoos had various solos, in which she stood center stage in her long, black and white habit.

According to Pryor, in each week of rehearsals getting closer to the show, the hours increased. The week before the show, known as “Tech Week,” the cast had practice every day from 4-9 pm.

“In the beginning, I thought, ‘This maybe isn’t going to come together,’ but in Tech Week we are getting more done than we ever got done in the beginning,” Ori said.  “It’s all coming together now, it really is.”

The final product was a good one, according to sophomore attendee Michael Pitts. “The plot was different that past musicals, but I still thought it was really good,” Pitts said. “I had never even heard of ‘Sister Act’ before, but I liked seeing a new musical put on by some of my classmates.”

Freshman Olivia Lansburgh agreed.  “I thought the play was really well done,” Lansburgh said. “It was super funny and really made me laugh!”