For as long as she can remember, Sweet Briar College student Sandi Prentice has been a fan of Julie Andrews, the stage and screen star probably best known as Maria, the troublesome nun in the film version “The Sound of Music.”

Sandi PrenticeWhen she was 5 or 6 years old, Prentice was introduced to the actress through “Mary Poppins,” part of a large collection of Disney films she has at home in Binghamton, N.Y. Andrews plays the title character, an energetic, singing nanny.

Enamored by Poppins’ sugary sweetness, Prentice assumed until recently that Andrews had the same delightful — albeit one-dimensional — real-life persona. While researching and writing the script for her senior directorial project, “A Julie Andrews Musical Tribute,” however, she found the English actress to be much more complex.

“Lately, in the doing research for the show, I’ve gained more respect for her with the things she had to go through as a child,” Prentice, a theater major with minors in musical theater and music, said referring to Andrews rocky upbringing.

“I found that she’s kind of sarcastic [and] definitely has more of an edge to her. She’s not just the simple, sweet Mary Poppins stereotype that everyone gives her. … She has more than one dimension to her.”

There is no title role in Prentice’s homage to Andrews. Instead, nearly a dozen vocalists will perform songs from “The Julie Andrews Show,” “The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady,” “Mary Poppins,” “Victor/Victoria,” “Cinderella,” “Camelot” and Andrews’ first Broadway musical, “The Boy Friend.”

The musical numbers will include “Broadway-style” choreography by Sara Buttine ’11 and narration by Emily Prince ’12 and Rachel Stock ’13.

The cast includes Sweet Briar College voice instructor Marcia Thom, Sarah Schofield ’11, Lauren Alkire ’12, Katherine Macklin ’13, Mary Massie ’10, Mary Rachel Taylor ’10, Temma Clark-Braverman ’10 and Corey Latta ’11.

Over the years, Prentice has lent her talents to numerous Sweet Briar Theatre productions, including fight choreography for “Little Women,” “Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards” and “Dr. Faustus.” With 14 years of martial arts training under her belt, she would like to make a career out of staging sword fights and battles.

Her dream job is on Broadway, but she says modestly that she’ll likely land in local theater, maybe in Washington, D.C. And while she enjoys acting, she said she finds behind-the-scenes work just as fulfilling.

But for now, she’ll concentrate on paying tribute to her childhood idol. “Julie Andrews influenced a lot of my theater decisions,” Prentice said. “I’ve always loved her since I was a little girl.”

“A Julie Andrews Musical Tribute” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10 in Babcock Studio Theater. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.