Whoopi for you

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She starred in the original film, not to mention the low-rent sequel, as a counterfeit nun on the run from criminal psychopaths. She became involved in the stage version as a cheerleading producer. Now Whoopi Goldberg is getting back in the habit.

Sister Act the Musical, with a pastiche disco songbook by Alan Menken, has been entertaining audiences at the London Palladium for over a year now. In the autumn it moves out to accommodate the latest product of the BBC/Lloyd Webber talent-hunting industrial complex. But it will leave a whiff of cordite as it departs, with Goldberg taking over from Sheila Hancock as the Mother Superior. That’s right, being too long in the tooth to convince as aspiring disco queen Doloris Van Cartier, Goldberg will be walling herself up in starch to play Doloris’s buttoned-up nemesis. It's going to be quite a stretch for an actress whose performance style has never been about containment or reserve. I think we can safely assume she won't be going down the starchy British route like Hancock or, before her in the film, Maggie Smith.

She's in it for three weeks. The show itself is a brainless delight. You could do a lot worse than book to see it.

Read theartsdesk Q&A with Alan Menken
Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act the Musical at the London Palladium from 10 to 31 August
Find Sister Act on Amazon

Watch Whoopi Goldberg conduct 'Oh Maria' in Sister Act

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