Sister Act: stage vs screen

Sister Act began as the 1992 comedy directed by Emile Ardolino, with Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer hidden in a convent, alongside Maggie Smith and Harvey Keitel. The stage musical, which opened on Broadway in 2011 with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and a book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner (with Douglas Carter Beane), keeps the habit and the choir but changes the place, the songs, and the danger. Here is how they compare.

Stage

Broadway musical (2011)

Screen

Sister Act (1992), directed by Emile Ardolino

1. The story moves to 1970s Philadelphia

In the film, Deloris sings in a Reno lounge and is hidden at Saint Katherine's Parish in San Francisco. The musical drops both cities and sets the story in Philadelphia in the late 1970s (1977 on Broadway, 1978 in London). The era suits Menken's score, which leans on 1970s soul and disco sounds.

2. An original score replaces the film's covers

The film is built on reworked pop and gospel numbers, such as "My Guy" turned into "My God," "I Will Follow Him," and a closing-credits "Shout." The musical has an all-new score by Menken and Slater, with songs like "Take Me to Heaven," "Fabulous, Baby!," "Raise Your Voice," "Sunday Morning Fever," and "Spread the Love Around."

3. Curtis replaces Vince LaRocca

Harvey Keitel's Vince LaRocca is a Reno club owner who is married and carries on an affair with Deloris. The musical's gangster boyfriend is Curtis Jackson on Broadway (Curtis Shank in London). His crew of Joey, TJ, and Pablo sings "Lady in the Long Black Dress" in Act Two, and Curtis leads "When I Find My Baby."

4. Eddie gets a solo

In the film, Lieutenant Eddie Souther, played by Bill Nunn, is the police officer who places Deloris in protective custody. In the musical, Eddie is a police officer who gets a number of his own. He sings "I Could Be That Guy" in Act One, and on Broadway he is played by Chester Gregory. In the London version, Deloris calls him "Sweaty Eddie."

5. Sister Mary Robert gets her own ballad

The film's Sister Mary Robert is a shy novice played by Wendy Makkena, whose singing voice was provided by Andrea Robinson. In the musical, she has a solo, "The Life I Never Led," in Act Two, sung by Marla Mindelle on Broadway. It gives the shy novice a voice of her own.

6. The Mother Superior has songs too

Maggie Smith's Reverend Mother is the stern head of the convent who resents Deloris, resigns, and later changes her mind. On Broadway, Victoria Clark's Mother Superior shares "Here Within These Walls" with Deloris and sings "Haven't Got a Prayer" on her own, a song the London version did not have. Clark earned a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

7. A different rescue

In the film, Vince's men kidnap Deloris and Sister Mary Robert, Deloris helps Mary Robert escape, and the nuns fly to Reno by helicopter, where Lieutenant Souther shoots Vince in the arm and arrests him. On Broadway, Curtis's men sneak in disguised as nuns, Curtis traps Sister Mary Robert at gunpoint, the nuns stand in his way, and Eddie arrests him. The climax stays in Philadelphia.

8. Both end with the Pope

Both versions end with the choir performing for the Pope. In the film, the choir sings "I Will Follow Him" in the refurbished San Francisco church with Pope John Paul II in the audience. In the musical, Deloris and the Mother Superior make peace, and the whole company sings "Spread the Love Around" for the Pope in the finale.

Sister Act movie vs musical: FAQs