She' back in the habit! Whoopi Goldberg joins London production of SISTER ACT for limited engagement

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 1:49pm

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/140966-Back-in-the-Habit-Whoopi-Goldberg-to-Join-London-Cast-of-Sister-Act

Playing the Mother Superior.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 1:53pm

That. Is. Awesome.

Maybe she'll do it when it transfers.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 2:21pm

Dry run for the Broadway transfer?

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 2:51pm

Don't forget Whoopi is a full time cohost on The View. Would she be able to juggle that with opening in a Broadway show? Would Barbara Walters even allow her?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 2:57pm

ljay - Whoopi was a full-time co-host of THE VIEW when she opened the show in London, and that was farther away, no? Barbara Walters let her do that. And she let Whoopi do THE VIEW (which films in NYC) when she was in XANADU for that limited stint.

Whoopi could, as she proved before, do THE VIEW in the morning and a Broadway show in the evening and some afternoons.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 3:00pm

I thought The View was on their summer hiatus when did Xanadu??

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 3:04pm

Whoopi only did a week of show's while The View wasn't on hiatus. I could see Whoopi not doing Wednesday matinees because of The View, but other than that I don't see anything else interfering.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 3:08pm

I'm not trying to be a downer. I would love if she did it on Broadway. I Just don't want to get too excited about it yet.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 3:13pm

She could do it on Broadway. I don't think she would do it full-time. A limited engagement, definitely.

THE VIEW films live 11am-Noon. That still leaves her a few hours to get to her Wednesday matinee. Depends on IF she wants to do the matinee, or if she wants to take it easy.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 3:15pm

I love how different the reaction is here compared to the West End Board. I'd love to see Whoopi as Mother Superior and think it could work pretty well. While most are used to the over-the-top ridiculous Whoopi, they forget that she scored her first Oscar Nomination (and only nomination for Best Actress) for The Color Purple, in which she played an extremely serious role. As such, I think she could bring a lot to the role of Mother Superior and I'm excited for it. If it transfers to Broadway, they could definitely schedule Whoopi in for a limited run. As it is, she recently left for a couple weeks to shoot For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. So they are more than willing to work around her acting gigs.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:46pm

I can't picture Whoopi singing "Here within these walls"

[TheKandyLife]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 4:51pm

omg...i booked my tickets in 2009 for Sister Act in London (I live in Scotland in the UK) and thought...yay! great cast album cant wait to see how everything goes......then this pops up...OMG...cannot wait!!! Whoopi Goldberg, bless her, she'll be amazing, she always has/will be =D

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:34pm

Mormon, Whoopie has an Oscar for her performance in 'Ghost'.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 5:52pm

I would really like to see Elaine Stritch or Angela Lansbury take this role when it comes to Broadway, but the likelihood of that happening is slim to none!

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 7/7/10 at 9:01pm

I think it would be a bad idea for her to open on Broadway with it. That way people will only see it when she is there and the show will suffer after she leaves. They shouldn't rely on her to keep the show open because she won't be there forever.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 1:23am

iluvtheatertrash, while she did win an Oscar for Ghost, that was for Best Supporting Actress. The only time she's ever been nominated for Best Actress is for The Color Purple.

[JP2]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 1:30am

Will she have cue cards?

[TIGGOSAURUS]

Posted: 7/8/10 at 7:21pm

I still favour the idea getting Julie Andrews for the role of Mother Superior - it doesn't actually require that much singing. Or if we're talking other 'famous nuns', how about Sally Field?

I will try and catch Whoopi in London though - should be a hoot watching her interact with Patina Miller as her 'younger self' Delores.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 2:25am

Goldberg will be fun for a short publicity stunt in London, but I can't see her actually pulling off the role. If she could barely speak-sing in XANADU, she certainly won't be able to pull off a song as "pretty" as "Here Within These Walls," not to mention how wrong her persona is for the actual character.

The appropriate name-quality casting for the Broadway transfer would be someone like Judi Dench. The role calls for that sort of sophistication.

Updated On: 7/10/10 at 02:25 AM

[Just_John]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 4:33am

The View films all Friday shows on Wednesdays after the live taping. So she couldnt do Wednesday matinees unless they switched that day for her.

[MyLife]

Posted: 7/10/10 at 10:50am

You guys are all talking as if Sister Act HAS to have a Wednesday matinee. They can do a 5 show weekend with two shows Saturday and Sunday, or they can dare to be like London and have a different matinee, maybe Friday if The View doesn't tape then.

If the Producers want Whoopi for the show, they will want her for all 8 performances per week and will try to find a way for that to happen.