West End star and Queen of British soul music Beverley Knight has been confirmed to star in the revival of Sister Act The Musical at the Eventim Apollo this Summer.
As rumoured by WestEndTheatre.com last week, Beverley will star as Delores Van Cartier. Originally, the production was to star Whoopi Goldberg, but she had to exit the show because of scheduling conflicts.
Beverley is currently starring in new musical The Drifters Girl at the Garrick Theatre, and will leave that show on 2 July after a successful run.
Also in the show will be The Greatest Showman star Keala Settle, the Tony nominated actress whose performance of the film’s Oscar-nominated song “This Is Me” reached Number One in the UK for 28 weeks. Keala will play Sister Mary Patrick in the show.
Other principle cast include comedian and actress Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) as Mother Superior, Lesley Joseph (Birds of a Feather) as Sister Mary Lazarus, Clive Rowe (Guys & Dolls, Carousel) as Eddie Souther and Lizzie Bea (Hairspray, Heathers The Musical) as Sister Mary Robert.
The cast will also include Jeremy Secomb, Graham McDuff, Tricia Deighton, Lori Haley Fox, Tom Hopcroft, Bradley Judge, Tanya Edwards, Catherine Millsom, Anne Smith, Emma Ralston, Jermaine Woods, Michael Ward and Caroline Bateson, with complete casting promised soon.
Based on the iconic smash-hit film starring Whoopi Goldberg and featuring music by Tony and 8-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted), Sister Act is a fabulous comedy musical that mixes uplifting disco, funk, soul and Motown-inspired songs.
The show is directed by Bill Buckhurst, with choreography by Alistair David, set design by Morgan Large, lighting design by Tim Mitchell, sound design by Tom Marshall and musical supervision by Stephen Brooker. Casting is by Stuart Burt.
Book tickets to Sister Act at the Eventim Apollo Theatre (19 July – 28 August 2022)
Book tickets to The Drifters Girl at the Garrick Theatre (booking to 12 February 2023)
More about the cast of Sister Act
Jennifer Saunders is a BAFTA award-winning actress, comedian and writer. She is one half of the highly successful and much-loved comedy duo French and Saunders and also wrote and starred in five series, three specials and a feature film of her hit comedy “Absolutely Fabulous”. Her many other TV credits include writing and starring in “Jam and Jerusalem” and guest starring in “Friends” and “Roseanne”. Her film credits include the voice of the evil ‘Fairy Godmother’ in “Shrek 2”. On stage she has appeared in “Lady Windermere’s Fan” at the Vaudeville Theatre and “Blithe Spirit” at Bath Theatre Royal and the Duke of York’s and Harold Pinter theatres in the West End.
Beverley Knight recently received an Olivier nomination for her starring role as ‘Faye Treadwell’ in “The Drifter’s Girl”, which she is currently appearing in at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End. Beverley can also be seen as a judge on ITV’s highly successful brand new entertainment show “Starstruck”. She is a three-time MOBO Award winner and Mercury Music Prize nominee who has sold over a million albums in the UK, including the platinum selling “Voice: The Best of Beverley Knight”. Her other West End credits include Olivier Award nominated performance as ‘Felicia Farrell’ in “Memphis The Musical”, ‘Rachel Marron’ in “The Bodyguard”, ‘Grizabella’ in “Cats” at The London Palladium and ‘Emmeline Pankhurst’ in “Sylvia” at the Old Vic Theatre. In 2021 she was also seen in Amazon’s live action movie “Cinderella” and in the Channel 4 pilot Big Age.
Keala Settle is the Tony-Award nominated actress and singer, and the breakout star of 20th Century Fox’s, “The Greatest Showman”, alongside Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. The Hawaii native’s performance of the film’s Oscar-nominated song “This Is Me” reached Number One on the UK’s charts for a record-smashing 28 weeks. Her Broadway credits include “Hands on a Hardbody”, “Les Misérables” and “Waitress”. She also featured on Hugh Jackman’s world tour concert “The Man. The Music. The Show.”, performing in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and North America. In December 2017, Keala released her EP Chapter One, a compilation of contemporary and R&B infused covers.
Lesley Joseph is best known for playing ‘Dorien Green’ in the hugely successful sitcom “Birds of a Feather” alongside Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson. They recorded over 100 episodes over a period of nine years. Lesley and her co-stars returned to our screens in “Birds of a Feather in 2013. She has been seen on screen in ITV’s “Night and Day” and appeared on BBC One’s “Strictly Come Dancing” and most recently Channel 4’s “Celebrity Coach Trip” alongside Linda Robson. Lesley’s theatre credits include ‘Miss Hannigan’ in “Annie” at the West End’s Victoria Palace and also on national tour, and her Olivier Award nominated performance as ‘Frau Blucher’ in “Young Frankenstein”. Her other touring credits include “Calendar Girls” and “Hot Flush!”.
Clive Rowe won the Olivier award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for “Guys and Dolls” at The National Theatre and was also nominated for Best Supporting Performance in “Carousel”, also at The National Theatre. At 2009’s Oliviers, he was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre award for “Mother Goose” at Hackney Empire. His many West End and touring credits include “Ladykillers” at the Gielgud Theatre, “Chicago” at the Adelphi Theatre, “Sweet Charity” at the Donmar Warehouse, the UK tour of “The Wind in The Willows” and “Me and My Girl” at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Lizzie Bea is currently starring as ‘Martha Dunnstock’ in “Heathers The Musical” at The Other Palace. She recently received critical and audience acclaim for her portrayal of ‘Tracy Turnblad’ in “Hairspray” at the London Coliseum. Her other theatre credits include ‘Abigail’ in the World Premiere of “Becoming Nancy” at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta and performing in the UK Tours of “Kinky Boots”, “Fat Friends the Musical”, “Chicken Little”, “The Shakespeare Revue” and “The 3 Little Pigs”.
Dominion Theatre, London
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