Reading Fridays Daily Mail, 'Baz' reports that Sister Act, that ticket sales are really strong, now Whoopi is in the act. I personally think she will be great, let Whoopi improvise and I think she will deliver as Mother Superior.
I get the impression that she will open Sister Act in New York with Patina.
"Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg has become box-office gold at the London Palladium with £1 million worth of tickets sold in two days.
Whoopi begins a three-week run at the Palladium in the stage musical Sister Act from August 10 through to August 31.
Within the first 50 hours of tickets going on sale, a shade just over £1 million was taken in credit card and cash sales for seats during Whoopi's 23-show run.
After the rush, things settled down, but the takings, which were running at around £40,000 to £50,000 a day, doubled to £90,000 to £100,000 worth of seats being sold daily.
The whole of her run will be sold out in the next few days, some £1.72 million worth of tickets.
The actress will play the role of Mother Superior opposite Patina Miller as Deloris, the part Whoopi created in the original Sister Act movie back in 1992. Sheila Hancock, who originated the Mother Superior role at the Palladium, is leaving the show after over a year.
But Whoopi won't be giving a carbon copy of the performances Maggie Smith gave in the two Sister Act films, and Ms Hancock in the show.
'I hope not,' Whoopi responded.
'I know she's got to be more reserved. You know, it's the Mother Superior we're dealing with here, but at the same time it will be a challenge because in my mind I'll hear lines coming at me and want to respond in a specific way.
'But you just can't; that's not the character.'
I lamented that she can't make whoopee on stage then, and she laughed and carefully responded: 'Well, no, not so anybody can see, anyway.'
She added: 'It's a great piece of fun, three weeks for me and in time they can find the person they want.
'I'll bring my Mother Superior groove to London and it'll be all right. I'm not Sheila and I'm not Maggie, this is an entirely different interpretation.'
She also explained that at 54 she's too old to play an ingenue nun because some of her fans are assuming she's going to play Sister Mary Clarence, the part now played by Ms Miller.
'I'm too old for Deloris as she's being played here. She's no longer mine, she's Patina's and she does her beautifully.'
In the U.S., Whoopi is one of the presenters of a popular daytime TV show called The View and she's using her annual break to make her debut on the West End stage.
She reminded me that I have seen her a couple of times on stage in New York, in Xanadu and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.
As a producer of Sister Act, she has been involved behind the scenes of the Palladium show and has been doing a lot to help usher the show to Broadway next year, where Jerry Zaks will direct it.
But she's thrilled to be coming to London.
'I should be English!' she told me.
'But I'm not. I'm very happy being an American, but I have English tendencies. Oh, my God, I have my scones with clotted cream. My tea? No milk, just naked tea, thanks.'
However, Whoopi becomes forlorn when it comes to historical monuments.
'I know it has been gone for many years, but I liked London Bridge in England and I lament when I pass. Because you sent it over here (to the U.S.) and what's it doin'? Does anyone even talk about it, or know where it is in America?'
She continued: 'Things that belong to a people should stay with stay with them. I can't imagine moving the Empire State building to some place like Tasmania. It's wrong.'
Perhaps she might put that old London Bridge in her bags when she arrives here for rehearsals with the London company around August 7.
She's rehearsing and learning her songs in New York, and her only chance to do a full rehearsal in London will happen the night before she opens."
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1295147/Rebecca-Hall-girl-real-spirit-diva-not.html#ixzz0txAe8at2
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