Whoopi Goldberg overcome with tears after reuniting ‘Sister Act 2’ cast for 30th-anniversary performance
Dressed as Sister Mary Clarence, Goldberg opened “The View” with a special performance of “Oh Happy Day" alongside the original cast and choir.
Whoopi Goldberg couldn’t hide her emotions after reuniting with some of the original cast and choir from “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” in celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary.
Dressed as Sister Mary Clarence, Goldberg opened “The View” on Wednesday with the choir, including City High singer and original “Sister Act 2” cast member Ryan Toby. She led the group in a rendition of “Oh Happy Day,” one of the most memorable songs from the film.
Later on in the episode, Goldberg explained how the sequel impacted audiences globally when it was released in 1993.
“Worldwide, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you are the age of those kids when you see the movie,” the 68-year-old actress explained. “You’re the age of them and you remember your time and you remember how happy you were that you didn’t have to go to Catholic school. But then you remember how sorry you are that you didn’t get to go to Catholic school and you missed out on teachers like this. So I think people just feel themselves here.”
Goldberg and Toby were joined by several other original “Sister Act 2” cast members, including Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Monica Calhoun, Alex Martin, David Kater, Frank Odell Howard, Dionna Nichelle, Jermaine Montell, Tanya Trotter, DeeDee Magno Hall, Ashley Thompson and Deondray Gossfield.
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Lauryn Hill, who played standout student Rita Watson, wasn’t available for the reunion, but Ralph, who played her mother, had a lot to say about the Fugees alum’s talent. The “Abbott Elementary” actress reminisced on one of the pair’s most iconic scenes where she told Hill that there are no job opportunities in the arts.
“I had no idea that that scene was going to land that way,” Ralph said. “In my mind I was channeling my Jamaican mother when I told her I was going to be an actress. ‘You’re going to be an actress? Working with all of those fake and phony people? On my hard-earned money? No! No!’ So in my mind in that scene, I’m playing my mom. If my mom could have seen these things, she’d say, ‘Lord God Jesus, you’re good girl!’
The special episode ended with a performance of “Joyful, Joyful” with students from New York City’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts helping to fill out the choir. The performance was led by Trotter, who sang “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” with Hill in the original film, and directed by Goldberg dressed as Sister Mary Clarence.
Goldberg was visibly emotional after the moving rendition, fighting back tears once the performance ended.
“Don’t forget: ‘Sister Act 3’ is in the works,” she added at the end of episode. “The script is in and I can’t wait for the day I can say, ‘Come along for the ride because I got that green light.'”
