Sister Act Takes the Stage at Duane Smith Auditorium This Weekend

Los Alamos Light Opera's production of "Sister Act" closed its final weekend run Saturday night at Duane Smith Auditorium, capping two weeks of performances that gave the town a rare chance to see its own adult talent front and center on one of New Mexico's best community stages.

Director and choreographer Wendy Caldwell Lanchier proposed the show with the community specifically in mind. She said she was inspired "because of this town's unbelievably talented women." After LALO's previous production, "Matilda the Musical," centered its younger cast members, Caldwell Lanchier said she "really wanted to give the spotlight to our adult women" this time around.

Donavan Price led the cast as Deloris Van Cartier, the nightclub singer-turned-undercover nun at the story's center, with Mitsi Pair Willard playing Mother Superior. Willard described the show as "a story of women supporting women and the power of creative self-expression," then added: "It's also really funny." Michelangelo Lobato played the villainous Curtis Jackson, with Collin McDowell drawing laughs as Monsignor O'Hara.

Day Forgaard, cast as Sister Mary Robert, had a personal stake in the role. "I find Sister Mary Robert's story very moving, and I've been singing her songs since I was a teenager," Forgaard said. "I never thought I'd have the chance to actually play her." For Forgaard, the show's deeper message carried as much weight as the music: "Sister Act is a show about learning to be unapologetically yourself and finding friendship and community through that process."

The production ran March 20, 21, 27, and 28 at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on March 22 at 2 p.m., all at Duane Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School, 1300 Diamond Drive. The March 22 matinee also marked the first time in LALO's 78-year history that the organization livestreamed a performance, opening the show to community members who could not attend in person.

Tickets were $25 general admission and $20 for students and seniors. Musical Theatre International rates the production PG. Duane Smith Auditorium accommodates up to 944 patrons, with dedicated parking in the lot on Diamond Drive and overflow spaces nearby, reachable by pedestrian overpasses across the street.