'Life imitating art and vice versa': Nicole Vanessa Ortiz on 'Sister Act' in Korea

Music & Performance

Published: 28 Nov. 2023, 16:38 Updated: 28 Nov. 2023, 16:44

'Life imitating art and vice versa': Nicole Vanessa Ortiz on 'Sister Act' in Korea

Nicole Vanessa Ortiz plays the lead Deloris Van Cartier in the ongoing international tour production of "Sister Act." [PARK SANG-MOON]

Last September, over two dozen American actors and creatives arrived at the southern port city of Busan for the first rehearsal of a Broadway classic, “Sister Act.”

Seven Korean actors and multiple staff joined them on site.

“It’s sort of life imitating art and vice versa because our show is about working through differences and coming together to celebrate life, and this is exactly what we are doing every day in rehearsal,” said Nicole Vanessa Ortiz, who plays the lead Deloris Van Cartier. “Despite the language barrier, this is probably the most supportive cast and crew I have ever worked with.”

A scene from the ongoing international tour production of "Sister Act" at D-cube Arts Center in Guro District, western Seoul [EMK MUSICAL COMPANY]

The musical “Sister Act” is based on the 1992 movie of the same title. Whoopi Goldberg famously played Deloris, a lounge singer who ends up hiding in a convent, disguised as one of the sisters, after witnessing a murder by her gangster boyfriend. Although she struggles to adapt to life in a convent, Deloris builds genuine friendships with the other sisters as she joins the church choir, helping the nuns break free from conventional ways and unleash their musical dreams.

Ortiz is part of the international tour production of “Sister Act” by a Korean musical company called EMK. It recently concluded shows in Busan and re-opened last week at D-cube Arts Center in Guro District, western Seoul.

A scene from the ongoing international tour production of "Sister Act" at D-cube Arts Center in Guro District, western Seoul [EMK MUSICAL COMPANY]

The musical is set to embark on a national tour, hitting 15 cities through May 2024, and then start an international tour around some six Asian countries from late 2024 to 2026. It is the first time for an Asian musical company to produce a musical production of this scale.

“I didn’t have any apprehensions when I heard that a Korean production company was taking leadership over a show that was built in America,” Ortiz said. “I took it as more of an opportunity to learn how to connect and collaborate.”

“I was worried, however, about whether people will like me! It is my first time taking an international flight of this distance and performing outside North America. So, I thought a lot about how I could gracefully adjust to the culture and connect with people on stage and in the audience.”

Ortiz was one of the finalists on “American Idol” at age 17 and made her musical theater debut in a 2017 Off-Broadway parody “Spamilton.” Since then, she has also been in musicals such as “Ragtime,” “Footloose” and the 2022 American production of “Sister Act” at Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey.

Nicole Vanessa Ortiz plays the lead Deloris Van Cartier in the ongoing international tour production of "Sister Act." [PARK SANG-MOON]

“When it comes to Asian teams or production companies coming to America or the global entertainment industry and taking up space, it's important because then there is more diversity,” Ortiz said. “They can do it as well, and, if I may say so, better — truly!”

The Korea JoongAng Daily met with Ortiz on Nov. 16 in Jung District, central Seoul, to discuss what’s new in this production of “Sister Act” as well as her experience building a show in Korea.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. What was your reaction when you heard that a Korean production company was taking leadership over a show first built in America?

A. I didn’t have any apprehensions about it. I took it as more of an opportunity to learn how to connect and collaborate, as well as learn from each other. The way we build shows in America is different from the way shows are built here. Each has its record of success. So learning Korea’s methods and how they approach things is how we intersect both of our experiences and meet in the middle for the same goal. When the goal and value are the same, differences can meet in the middle.
A good example is when we did a live studio taping last week. We shot it at this huge theater where big festivals like the Tony Awards are held. When I was told that we were going to do the taping, I was thinking of a studio audience and a “Saturday Night Live” kind of room. Everything [here] is an event. That’s what I love about Korea. It doesn’t matter how big or small it might feel to us actors — they make everything a celebratory event so that other people can feel excited about what we have to show.

You played Deloris in America’s “Sister Act.” How is EMK’s production different?

“Sister Act” is a beloved Broadway classic. However, I think that in terms of the artistic approach that EMK production has taken toward “Sister Act” — the visuals, the music and just sort of the aesthetic on how we zoom in on some of the narrative motifs of the story that people might have missed in the original version but now they get to see in this version — is better. Also, with the artistic lighting and image projected backdrop of stages, I think the audience can feel that the fourth wall is broken and they can immerse themselves into the show. I had the opportunity to watch our show from the audience, and it was just magical.

How does it feel coming back to the role of Deloris, and which part of her do you relate to the most?

I’m so excited to be back as Deloris because she's such a fun character to play. Her humor is so innocent and so authentic. She’s figuring out a way to make the most of her situation. Life is short and you have to take advantage of the little things that bring you joy, and that’s what I relate to her the most.

Did you have any worries about coming to Korea to practice and perform?

It was my first time taking an international flight of this distance. I’ve never done a musical production outside of North America or even a national tour. So my worries were mainly self-esteem-related, like “Am I going to be enough?” or “Will they like me?” I also thought about how I could gracefully adjust to the culture and social nature of how people connect, on and off stage.

How was working in the multicultural cast?

It's been a wonderful platform to really engage and interact with Korean performers and diverse American counterparts as well. When we share space, we get to learn about our differences, celebrate cultures and celebrate our commonalities as well. It’s sort of life imitating art and vice versa because that’s what the story of “Sister Act” is about. Deloris is a standout character who would never fit into a convent. She is just the last person you would think who would become a nun. So in this case, as Americans and as diverse Americans, and collaborating with Korean performers, this probably wouldn’t be the first place we would see ourselves in. But the fact that we are here in this very exciting district of performing arts, it’s nice to learn how passionate they are about telling these stories and bringing that energy to the stage where we show what diverse yet collective unity and harmony look like because, in the end, we are all humans. It’s nice to see how different we all are from each other and celebrate that in a show like “Sister Act.”

What was a unique experience working so far in Korea?

Not every story has to sound the same or be presented the same, and that was something that I felt people here really embraced with the multi-role casting. So my Deloris doesn’t have to look the same as another actor playing the same role. It’s about bringing our personal experiences into the role. Art isn’t monolithic but rather varietal. Acting is about taking something real and putting that into character. Art is a representation of a human experience, per Viola Davis. But the only way that people can do that is when they are in a space where they feel like they can, and this particular cast of “Sister Act” and this particular company have probably been the most supportive of each other.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]