‘I always thought TO MYSELF THAT THERE WAS SOME UNFINISHED BUSINESS’
Landi Oshinowo on putting on Deloris’ iconic purple platforms and returning to Sister Act… By Keeley Ryan
Landi Oshinowo has told how she “jumped at the chance”to be a part of Sister Act again — and why she reckons Delorisvan Cartier’s story still strikes a chord with audiences. The brand new production of the beloved musical will be running at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from February 13 until February 24.
Based on the 1992 film of the same name, the show follows disco diva Deloris after she witness a murder. Now under protective custody, she is told she has to go into hiding in the one place where she’s unlikely to be found: a convent.
Encouraged to help the struggling choir, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their true voices — and unexpectedly rediscovers her own.
And Landi — who previously starred in the show as part of the original West End cast — told Chic how“amazing”it was to be back.
She said,“i absolutely love the show. I love everything about it. It’s got so much heart, beautiful songs, beautiful moments with nuns — I absolutely loved the show.
“The first time around that I did it, we were at the London Palladium.
“I worked with Shiela Hancock — and even Whoopi Goldberg came at one point, she popped in to do the role of Mother Superior. Patina Miller was our Deloris then.
“It was absolutely incredible. And when the role came up again, I jumped at the chance.”
Landi recalled how when she found out the tour was happening, she immediately knew she wanted to be involved — and told how things worked out perfectly with the show she was on at the time.
She said,“i had to get the job. I think that it didn’t matter whether they’d consider me or not, in my mind I was going to do it again.
“But it worked out really well. Beforehand, I was doing Matilda The Musical and my contract was coming to an end — and literally, I think the rehearsals for this overlapped by a week and a half or something like that. It was absolutely
brilliant for me. I rehearsed in the day and worked in the evening, it was brilliant.
“When we finished at the Palladium in London, I always said I would do the show again. In fact, when the show finished in 2010, I had actually been offered the tour — which, at the time, I turned down and went on to do Shrek The Musical.
“But I always thought to myself that there was some unfinished business with the show — and here we are.”
Sister Act is filled with plenty of memorable musical moments
— and Landi told how there were two in particular that stand out as favourites.
She said,“to perform, for me it has to be Fabulous Baby. It’s a song that I will say is slightly misunderstood — in terms of like, it’s all about me, me, me.
“But when Deloris is singing it, I think she’s slightly misunderstood that you see yourself as fabulous, but do other people see you the same way?
“It’s a song that lots of people have used in auditions, and I think it’s just a really happy song to sing.
“It’s beautifully written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. It’s one of my favourites.
“My other favourite to watch is I Could Be That Guy, which is sung by the character Eddie in the show — and it’s sung by Alfie Parker, who has an amazing, amazing voice.
“The music in the show, it’s really right up my street. I love disco. Alan Menken, when he composed the songs, literally had disco running throughout — it’s the era that it was set in.
“I know the original movie has lots of Motown in it, and lots of people expect to hear songs from the movie.
“But the brilliant thing that Alan Menken’s done is that he’s completely done original work.
“20 minutes into the show, you don’t even remember the movie songs — the way the music is written…he’s got like, a million Oscars for Disney productions, so you’d expect nothing less.
“And when you walk away from the show, having heard all the songs, you’ve got this joy in you.”
Landi told how she loves many parts of working on the production — from the costumes and Deloris’ purple platform boots to the music to the set and props — and how the“people who play these characters are quite special”.
She added,“we’ve got — apart from the lovely cast — some well-known faces who are working with us as well. At the moment, we’ve got Ruth Jones working with us and she’s going to be with us in Dublin.
“She is the nicest lady. I mean, you know her character in Gavin And Stacey was literally… non-smiley.
“But Ruth doesn’t stop smiling, she’s such a gorgeous, gorgeous lady.
“And then we’re going to be joined by Sue Cleaver from Coronation
Street later on, and she’s so lovely.
“We also recently had Lesley
Joseph, who was our Mother Superior again. I love Lesley, she’s got comedy coming out of every pore.
“I recently met Lemar, who is going to be Eddie in London, and I met Beverly Knight before.
“I did Starstruck on TV a few years ago, and Beverly was one of the judges on that — and she’s just dynamite. She’s going to be playing Deloris at the Dominion in London.
“That’s going to be an amazing cast. And the cast, the people, they’re special — lovely human beings.”
Sister Act has been a hit with audiences since the film camw to screens in 1992, with the musical adaptation following in 2009.
And Landi told how she reckons one of the things audiences continue to connect with is the“heart”in the story — and that she feels“a lot of people can relate to Deloris”.
She continued,“she’s a singer — she’s not the best singer in the world — and her character has flaws; she’s going out with a married gangster, and is looking for happiness and a happy ending, and to further her career somehow or other. She’s not malicious.
“A lot of people can relate to how imperfect she is as a woman. But then she meets these nuns, and they bring out the good in her and everybody — innately, this is what Hollywood is built on: the end of the movie being happy.
“And so innately, everyone wants to see the good, the happy ending for Deloris. Eventually, you do.
“And there’s something really satisfying about that.
“As a character, she’s not malicious, mean, unkind — lots of people warm to that.
“And I think that people just walk away with a feeling that all is right in the world, somebody came good out of a bad situation.
“And I think that’s what resonates with people.“
And with the show’s arrival in Ireland just around the corner, Landi told how there is one particular thing she is looking forward to doing in Dublin.
She said,“wow, I haven’t been to Dublin since — I did a show in there many years ago, a short show, Blues Brothers. I did the Blues Brothers at the Tivoli Theatre.
“It was a very small theatre. That was the last time I was in Dublin, and I loved it.
“We stayed somewhere on the Liffey, there was a great pub we all went to — and I went to some of the churches, because I like to go to church.
“But this time, I’m really looking forward to the Guinness Factory, which I never went to [last time] — two months there, and I never went to it.
“I want to see what it’s all about. And the thing is, I’m of Nigerian heritage and the two places where you get the best Guinness in the world are Ireland and Nigeria.
“So, I’ll be visiting the Guinness factory.
“This time around, I think I’m really going to go around the city.
“I’m not sure how much I did last time, but I’m going to revisit things — and I’m really looking forward to coming to Ireland.”
When you Walk away from the show, you’ve got this great joy in you.”