Raven-Symoné to Replace Patina Miller in SISTER ACT — Page 2

Melanie Griffith as Mother Superior!

ljay, to be fair, Raven has lost a ton of weight since that video (which is from almost six years ago.) She looks practically like a different person.

As I said, I'm just curious how much of a selling point she remains to be. THAT' SO RAVEN was a huge hit, but her recent series for ABC Family, STATE OF GEORGIA, was cancelled after just one season. I guess we'll see how she fares.

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Updated On: 1/31/12 at 11:52 AM

I wasn't referring to her weight in that video. The "choreography" was puzzling.

She has lost weight, but she's only 5'2". She does not have the fit dancer's body that Patina has. Patina just oozes sex appeal when she's not Sister Mary Clarence.

The simple fact is that the girl can't act. She has a "schtick" she's stuck with for 20 years and that's all she can do. I'm sure we can close our eyes and know EXACTLY how she'll be in this show.

Exactly. Mugging on a children's sitcom for a few years hardly makes her a skilled comedienne.

Right, but her "schtick" is exactly what this role requires- a broad, over the top, slapstick comedienne. This isn't Shakespeare, for god sakes. There's absolutely nothing subtle involved in a Douglas Carter Beane comedy. What Deloris needs to have is tons of star quality, and Raven has made a career on that.

Besides, you act as if she's been in fifty million movies giving the same performance. She hasn't exactly done a ton of things since THAT'S SO RAVEN to have the opportunity to showcase a range.

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Updated On: 1/31/12 at 12:06 PM

it's at least nice to know the show will stay open through the summer. but unless they find another "name" to replace Raven-Symon in the fall, Sister Act will likely be gone by Labor Day.

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I actually worked with Raven for some promos we produced for the disney. All she has is her shtick. I am not saying it won't be appealing to some. But the girls is very limited. And her family is a nightmare. Best of luck to all involved. And Patina is extremely talented.. and am not basing that just on Sister Act.

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Updated On: 1/31/12 at 12:14 PM

People who judge an entire actor's performance solely based on CLIPS deserve to be laughed right off this board..... and that usually happens.

maybe I am out of the loop but will this name sell tickets?

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Why is her Deloris ghetto? Why does she hop around the stage like a possessed Baptist minister during Raise Your Voice? Why does she make every line of dialogue resemble ghetto jive street talk?

Whoopi does none of that in the film.

Whoopi = in the SUCCESSFUL film Sister Act.
Patina = pity Tony nomination in a year with no real competition, which she didn't win, in the Broadway musical that's been struggling selling tickets since it opened.

Clearly, there's a problem with her portrayal of the role.

Updated On: 1/31/12 at 12:30 PM

I loved Patina in this show (and really enjoyed the show in general the times I've seen it) but I don't think the acting performance Patina has been giving in the show is really that far off what Raven does already. I'm with somethingwicked here. In fact, I think Patina is closer to the Raven mold than she ever was to the Whoopi-in-the-movie mold. And it seems Raven is trying to break out of the Disney sitcom star mold. The role requires a tremendous amount of presence and sass, and I think even her body of work in the past, limited though it may be, shows that she's exuded that her whole life, since her days on The Cosby Show.

And, further, I respect the producers for pursuing this kind of star casting over Whoopi as Mother Superior. As has been wisely pointed out on this board, the role on Broadway is much more vocally difficult than it was when Whoopi played it in London.

PS, in looking for clips of her singing on Youtube, I found this interview/performance on a talk show when she was very young. Am I the only one who thinks she seems exactly like a Young Deloris would be in real life/the way she was played in the brief bit at the beginning of the film?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhzNL9D7NL4

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Wow you're blaming Patina because Sister Act isn't doing well. It is in no way her fault. Victoria and Patina were called the best part of the show but Patina carries it.

The amount of Patina bashing in this thread is ridiculous.

The Deloris that Patina plays is completely different from the Deloris in the film. The musical is set in a different city, in a different decade, and Deloris is WRITTEN as being down and out. She's a singer who has nothing but a dream and is looking for her big break (a club act). In the film, Whoopi's Deloris already has all of those things. They're the same character in name only.

To suggest that her Tony nomination was out of "pity" is the height of idiocy.

Having suffered through Rashidra Scott as Deloris, I can tell you that Patina really does bring a lot to the role, both in terms of comedy and singing.