Holy smokes, these nuns have moves.
The feel-good musical Sister Act, based on the 1992 film of the same name, hits the stage at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts this weekend featuring the talents of local theater company Little Radicals Theatrics.
Sister Act tells the story of disco diva Deloris Van Cartier, who is placed in protective custody in a convent after witnessing a murder on Christmas Eve. This production of the hit musical features original music by Oscar- and Tony-winning composer Alan Menken and stars Jaada Hyatt as its leading lady.
Hyatt, a vocalist from Brevard County, is stepping into the disco shoes for her first role as a lead.
“We dance a lot in the show, and so keeping that stamina while you’re singing and going directly into another thing without heavy breathing is a challenge in and of itself. I’ve never been a lead in a musical before, so going from ensemble, where I can just dance, dance, dance in the background before getting a break, to being a lead and in like almost every scene, is a lot,” says Hyatt.
Deloris, who struggles to adjust her diva lifestyle to the limitations of the convent, develops a deep bond with her holy sisters as they find common ground.
“I would definitely say that Sister Act is a story about sisterhood. A lot of the stories we are seeing that are being popularized are a little bit far away from original Broadway, you know, stories about men and women,” Hyatt says. “This is about sisterhood, about personal strength, fighting for your dreams and seeing how far you can go with your life.”
Deloris, despite outside threats and challenges within the convent, finds ways to uplift the voices of her sisters while on her own self-actualization journey. A pivotal role in her career, Hyatt’s found herself uplifted by her character.
“I think the thing that resonated with me as I was going through the scenes and learning more about Deloris is that it takes more than one person to fight for your dreams,” Hyatt says. “You can fight for your dreams as much as possible, but you’re not going to get as far if you don’t have people around you who love you and care for you and want that for you as much.”
The story of Sister Act, while a comedy with the bonus of singing and dancing nuns, is largely antagonized by Deloris’ gangster boyfriend Curtis Jackson, here portrayed by Mark Harriott.
“There is a song that Mark sings where it’s kind of like a threat. The first version of it is more funny, everyone’s laughing at that song and him, and his goons do such a good job. Everybody is always whooping and hollering,” Hyatt says. “But when he does the reprise of it, every time he does it, I get chills because he’s just like really, really zoning in on how angry he is with Deloris for walking away from that power, and putting him in harm’s way.”
Harriott’s method of “zoning in” is honing his understanding of fear tactics and his character’s emotional control over Deloris. “My whole thing is control through fear. I think that people operate with three main fears in their lives — a fear that they’re not enough, or a fear that they don’t have what it takes to succeed, and fear that they don’t have what it takes to be loved,” Harriott says. “My whole job is to be the fear, the tension throughout the whole musical, which helps Deloris become a complete person.”
Harriott’s Jackson is balanced by his active-duty bumbling henchmen: Joey, TJ and Pablo. Harriott, a newer member of the Little Radicals troupe, built a foundation in the company alongside his beloved goons.
“I love my goons. Joey, played by Tyler Moylan, he’s done a lot of shows with Little Radicals. And I think our Pablo, Sammy [Pagan] as well. So like they know each other and it’s a good segue for me and Chase Williams (TJ) who are new to the theater. We all mesh well together,” Harriott says.
The whole cast, actually, meshes well together, Harriott adds. Whether it’s a loyal pack of goons or a chorus of nuns, what he’s found throughout the preparation for Sister Act is the importance of having a support system.
“Having like-minded people around you and people who believe in you is important. It’s a lot harder to go in a direction if people tell you to go in a different direction. It’s like swimming with weights and someone’s pulling you back,” Harriott says. “Having people who think the same as you and want the best for you is very pivotal to maintain a mentality of resilience in a world that wants to break that down.”
With all the excitement from rehearsals ahead of opening night, Harriott only recently considered that his fun with the nuns is almost done. “It’s such a bittersweet thing about a musical is that by the time you get to the actual musical, you’ve all built something together. There’s so much hype and excitement, and then by the time you actually do the thing, it’s like ‘Well, ’til we cross paths again’. You don’t really think of it as early on because you still have all these things you gotta prepare,” Harriott says.
Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
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This article appears in Aug 13-18, 2025.