“Drinking Habits,” the season opening main-stage production of the Sun City Players Community Theater, tells the story of the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing who have been secretly making wine as well as grape juice to help the convent stay afloat.

Sister Philamena, devout and dedicated to her calling, is joyful, humorous and incapable of lying. Performing this role will be Jo Johnson who stated, “I still am that shy and honest person who hates having to keep a secret. Like Sister Philamena, I find it a hard task to be genuine and kind at times to my fellow man.”

Although Johnson was attracted to the “lights” of the theater as a youngster, it wasn’t until her high school years that the fire for acting began with musicals. This led to her involvement in dinner theater for 16 years.

Johnson has performed in four main-stage productions and two one-act plays for Sun City Players during the last three years. Her favorite role was that of Fairie Mae in “The Curious Savage.” According to Johnson, “she was someone who was loveable, funny and kooky. I wish I could be more like her, since it is occasionally difficult to stay upbeat in these times.”

Sister Augusta, played by Nancy Dearborn, is the mastermind of the secret winery. She is a little rough around the edges, sassy, a quick thinker and kind of pushy. However, her heart is in the right place. Having been the bossy, older sibling to three younger brothers and one sister, Dearborn can really relate to this character. “I guess I have experience,” she stated.

Dearborn’s active imagination and story telling ability at an early age helped her dabble in theater during her school years. While in college, one of her first play appearances was in Carousel, put on by her church. It wasn’t until she had been a stage mother to three of her four children during their high school years that Dearborn reappeared on stage in another church production.

Community theater has been Dearborn’s calling since then. After performing in eight shows in Iowa, she retired to Sun City, where she has been very active in Players club for the past ten years. With eight main-stage productions, numerous skits and one-act plays on her resume, Dearborn has also been seen in several Readers Theater renditions in the local community. Besides serving on the executive board of Players on two different occasions, she is now responsible for providing quality entertainment at the club’s monthly meetings.

Sister Mary Catherine will be performed by Cathy Corbin, who will be making her debut with Sun City Players. Sister Mary Catherine is full of joy, open to love, desires to find her niche and yet remains a bit naïve and sweetly silly. She is an innocent person, new to the convent, who becomes more and more unhinged as the chaos unfolds.

Corbin has loved acting and storytelling since she was a little girl and wrote her first play when she was in the sixth-grade. She starred in plays and musicals throughout her high school and college years.

“I enjoy forgetting myself, putting on various personalities and living different lives for a while. I believe acting is all about communicating with and to your audience,” said Corbin.

Corbin told her mom when she was in grade school, “I want to be a protestant nun so I can just live at church.” She shares Sister Mary Catherine’s desire to follow a spiritual path and, in fact, Corbin attended a faith-based college, after which she became a hospital/hospice chaplain.

After retiring to Sun City over ten years ago, Corbin has enjoyed performing at such venues as Theater Works, Ghostlight Theater, Stage Left Productions and two benefits at Arizona Broadway Theater. Her favorite dramatic role was Mariette Levieux in Neil Simon’s “Dinner Party,” while her most-liked comedic role was Miss Alice in “Fruitcakes,” by Julian Wiles.

Performance dates are 7 p.m. Nov. 15, 22 and 23 and 2 p.m. Nov. 16, 17 and 24, at the Mountain View Recreation Center, 9749 N. 107th Ave. For complete ticket information, visit suncityplayers.org. The spring play will be the “1940’s Radio Hour,” debuting the weekends of March 14-16 and March 21-23, 2025. Season tickets for both shows are $25, while single tickets are $15. Tickets at the door for the day of performance are $20. Purchase tickets in person at the Fairway Recreation Center 10 a.m.-noon Nov. 11-14 and Nov. 18-21.