Page 12 - Phonebox Magazine June 2024

HALLELUJAH! The sisters are back
It’s one the best-loved musicals on the tour circuit and now Sister Act The Musical is heading for Northampton. Star Landi Oshinowo tells Phonebox’s Tom Johnston why she has so much faith in the show.
More than half a million people have seen the smash hit musical Sister Act – initially in a highly successful run in London’s West End and then when the show went on tour across the country.
And the fun hasn’t stopped yet. The production is back on the road again in a new UK and Ireland tour and this time there are some new faces fronting this ‘heavenly’ production.
Landi Oshinowo joined the show in the lead role as Deloris Van Cartier last autumn, and she’ll be linking up with former Coronation Street favourite Wendi Peters, who is taking on the brilliant role of Mother Superior.
They have both stepped into big shoes – Deloris has previously been played by singing sensations Beverley Knight and Alexandra Burke, while the Mother Superior role has been graced by stage legends Lesley Joseph and Ruth Jones, and comedy actor Jennifer Saunders.
Based on the iconic 1992 movie, which starred Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, this is a sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, sisterhood and music.
It’s about a disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses her boyfriend commit murder. Under protective custody, she is hidden in a convent. And it’s there, disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, that Deloris joins the choir, helps her fellow sisters find their voices, and unexpectedly rediscovers her own.
“I was initially drawn to Sister Act because of the movie,” says Landi. “I was in the original cast at the London Palladium in 2009 and 2010 and
had the privilege of working on stage with Whoopi when she played Mother Superior for a short time.
“The story has a lot of heart and joy. It’s about friendship, sisterhood, and acceptance, especially of other people’s differences. It also contains a lot of comedy, which is right up my street!
“Yes, Deloris is larger than life. Yes, she’s loud and brash, but the positive impression she makes in the lives of the nuns and they in hers is all heart. It could so easily be all about comedy and singing great songs, but the reactions of our audiences really show how well each cast member portrays their character.
Landi has a church-going background – originally as a member of the Anglican church and more recently as part of the more praise-centred Pentecostal church.
“I understand what it is to praise and worship the Lord, which comes in very handy for ‘Raise Your Voice’, the song Deloris sings as she teaches the nuns to sing,” says Landi. “My faith also keeps me humble and grounded, so I don’t get too big-headed playing the lead role.”
She admits that playing the lead is hard work but says it’s great fun, too, and she gets on very well with the entire cast and company. The music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glen Slater, says Landi, are so ‘uplifting’ that she gets swept along, making her job ‘that little bit more enjoyable’.
“Honestly the cast is golden,” she adds. “They are the most talented, gorgeous people one could pray to share a stage with. And we’re definitely
12 Phonebox Magazine | June 2024