Sally Dexter to Step Into Whoopi Goldberg's Habit in Sister Act

Olivier Award winner Sally Dexter will be the next actress to get in the habit, replacing Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Superior in the London Palladium’s currently running Sister Act. Goldberg began a limited 23-performance engagement in the musical adaptation of the film on August 10. Dexter steps in beginning August 31, and will stay with the tuner through the end of its run on October 30. Goldberg starred as lounge singer Deloris van Cartier in the 1992 film, the role now played by Broadway veteran Patina Miller.

Sister Act features music by Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), lyrics by Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid) and a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner (Cheers). The story centers on disco diva Deloris Van Cartier, who is put into protective custody after witnessing a murder in the one place cops are sure she won't be found: a convent. Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and an uptight Mother Superior. Using her fabulous disco-ness and killer voice to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community, but in doing so blows her cover. Soon it’s nun-on-the-run time but she finds salvation in the heavenly power of her newly found sisterhood.

Dexter’s previous West End credits include Oliver!, Billy Elliot, Macbeth, Closer and Dalliance, which earned her the Olivier Award. Numerous screen appearances include Wittgenstein, A Few Short Journeys of the Heart, Roger Roger, Firelight, The Bill, Tough Love, Night & Day, The Final Curtain, A Touch of Frost, Jericho, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Hotel Babylon.

Sister Act aims to land on Broadway in 2011.