Nun shall pass

Though she achieved theatrical renown as a youth and a young adult, Melissa Joy Hart came to feel she would need to wait to ripen as a performer, believing that age 35 would yield a constant course of action for her creative bent. Six years beyond that digit, the resident of the 2300 block of South 12th Street has indeed developed a desirable presence in the acting annals and is proving a divine element of the Walnut Street Theatre’s production of “Sister Act.”

“There is nothing that isn’t funny about this show,” the hilarious and harmonious hire said from the 207-year-old site that is staging the musical adaptation of the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg-fronted film through July 17. “It’s just a good, good time, and there’s so much cohesion among the cast members that it doesn’t even feel like a job to me.”

The Lower Moyamensing inhabitant is continuing her strong relationship with the theater behemoth by playing Sister Mary Patrick, one of the nuns offering care and compassion to disco diva Deloris Van Cartier as she resides in their convent after witnessing a crime. Marking its 10th anniversary, the musical has gained considerable acclaim, with Tony Award nominations, international and national tours, and translation into seven languages proving its clout. Hart and her peers, including South Philadelphians Fran Prisco and Ellie Mooney, began to bond in Vero Beach, Florida April 12, with the Riverside Theatre hosting the hijinks before the Walnut. Eager to entertain Keystone State dwellers with the script, especially because the production team has set the work in South Philly, Hart happily helps the overseers to delight venturers to the nation’s oldest theater through her intense connections to her colleagues and gratitude for her recent run of fortune.

“I think my career has hit the stride that I’d wanted,” she said of her progression, with the Walnut endowing her with “amazing influences.” “I’m coming into contact with people who are fully invested in the collaborative process, and they make it all so worthwhile.”

Those rewarding relationships have made Hart particularly proud that she desired a part in “Sister Act,” as her preparation for and execution of its storyline has further helped her to eradicate memories of the apprehension that once cast a resolute cloud over her stage-based endeavors.

“I was in the business at a young age, but it was tough for a long time to feel as if I were really, really immersed in it,” the actress, who is celebrating her first principal mainstage role for the Walnut, stated. “At this point, I’m definitely in the business, and I’m looking forward to testing myself more.”

Subjecting herself to scrutiny has resonated with the local figure since her days as a Lansdale-bred girl. Noting she was one of those children who cherished occasions to bring levity to loved ones, she quickly gravitated toward musical theater, holding that it could compel her to make artistic and personal revelations.

“I wanted to make people laugh and have fun,” Hart said of the initial blessings possible through theater. “I always had that pull toward acting because I sensed that I could bring something to life in my way and strengthen the overall integrity of a project.”

Tackling community theater helped her dream to materialize, with the ambitious individual enhancing her comprehension of her discipline through undergraduate studies at the University of Hartford. Based on her impressive talents, the Connecticut institution offered her free rides in the vocal and musical theater tracks, with Hart selecting the second after the initial one proved unappealing and daunting.

“I’ll value those experiences forever,” she said of her Nutmeg State stint. “I interacted with so many people who had such dedication to their craft, and I was able to explore a bit more because of the resources available to me. Looking back, I’d say everything opened up for me in terms of my musical theater aspirations when I was in college.”

Regardless of her verve, Hart held firm in deliberating over when she felt stability would be hers as a performer, yet this stance did not keep her from residing in the theatrical realm, with an eight-year tenure at the Wilmington-based Grand Opera House, through which she dedicated herself to community engagement through an arts management position, as her primary means of retaining regard for her contemporaries’ passion. The catalyst for the rediscovery of her zeal occurred in 2012, with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater hiring her to perform in “Assassins.”

“I definitely took a leap of faith there,” she said of accepting the role, which led her to resign from her Delaware duties. “My mother was a huge source of direction and voice of reason because I had thought I would need to turn it down, but she said ‘When are you really going to give everything you have to this?’ Trying to do just that was definitely one of the best decisions that I have made.”

Hart has shown her heart consistently since her Wisconsin-situated turn in the musical by Stephen Sondheim that is based on an idea by South Philly denizen Charlie Gilbert, returning to The Badger State the next year for “Ragtime.” The Walnut Street Theatre has become a consistent employer, and she will continue to tout its tenacious devotion to powerful productions through “Marrying Matty.” She will also head to Norristown come the fall for Theatre Horizon’s “A New Brain.” By the time she begins her Montgomery County sojourn, Hart will have been wed for a little more than a month, as she and fiancé Matt Deutsch will marry Sept. 4, with Mooney, her best friend, set to be the maid of honor.

“As with acting, but way more so, I’m excited for the next chapter in my life,” she said of her nuptials, for which she is gladly counting down the days (73 as of today). “I am really curious to see how it will all go.” ■

Call 215-574-3550, or visit walnutstreettheatre.org.

Contact Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.