Whoopi Goldberg To Reprise Iconic Deloris Van Cartier Role In London-Based ‘Sister Act’ Musical
Whoopi Goldberg announced during the October 24 episode of ABC’s The View that she would be reprising her iconic role of Deloris Van Cartier in the London stage production of Sister Act: The Musical.
The EGOT winner’s admission was received with cheers from the studio audience of the daytime talk series and with much applause and admiration from her panel of fellow The View co-stars Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Abby Huntsman, and Meghan McCain.
The actress and comedian will play her original role of Deloris Van Cartier, which she portrayed in the 1992 hit film, which spawned a 1993 sequel titled Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit.
The movie was adapted into a stage musical in 2006, with a previous run on Broadway.
The play’s premise will remain the same. Lounge singer Deloris witnesses a homicide and is forced to go into witness protection, in a convent. She initially struggles with life at the convent under her new name of Sister Mary Clarence, but finds her own voice after she begins working with the convent’s choir. She then helps the other sisters find out who they really are, banding together when Deloris’ past comes back to haunt her.
The BBC reported that Goldberg will perform in a month’s worth of shows, beginning in late July, except for Thursday matinee performances, where the role of Deloris will be portrayed by West End star and Loose Women panelist Brenda Edwards.
Goldberg will also act as a producer of the new version of the show, which will play at London’s Eventim Apollo.
*WHOOPI’S BACK* @WhoopiGoldberg will be coming to the @EventimApollo London next summer to play Deloris in @sisteractsocial alongside JENNIFER SAUNDERS as Mother Superior! It's gonna be (absolutely) FABULOUS, BABY! *ONLY 39 PERFORMANCES* https://t.co/zMCyVwhptx @ferrifrump pic.twitter.com/YAQ0YKix6Z
— Sister Act The Musical (@sisteractsocial) October 24, 2019
Jennifer Saunders will play the convent’s Mother Superior in the newly-adopted version of the hit musical, a role The View moderator briefly appeared in back in 2010 when the show was running in London’s famed West End.
“There are so many variables that will come together and explode with Whoopi Goldberg in the in the center of Sister Act,” said show composer Alan Menken in a Twitter clip.
The show’s co-producer Jamie Wilson remarked in the same aforementioned clip, “This is a very special one-off opportunity to see one of the most loved actors of our time playing a part that she is so loved and so famous for.”
After her reveal, Goldberg also told her The View panelist pals that she is still working on trying to make Sister Act 3 happen but has met with some resistance due to the fact that she has been told no one would want to see yet another version of the beloved film.
Goldberg was joined by cast members from the 1992 film in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary to perform, in their iconic habit costumes, a rendition of “I Will Follow Him” on The View.
The Inquisitr recently reported that Goldberg lost her temper at fellow panelist Meghan McCain during a particularly heated panel discussion about Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria.
Sister Act: The Musical will run from July 29 to August 30, 2020, during Goldberg’s summer break from The View.
