Menken's Sister Act Musical Plays Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in Early 2007

After its previously-announced run at the Pasadena Playhouse, the new Alan Menken musical Sister Act, based on the hit 1992 comedy with Whoopi Goldberg, will be presented at Atlanta's ALLIANCE THEATRE's from January 17th through February 25th, 2007.

Peter Schneider--a former executive at Walt Disney Theatricals--will direct the show, which will also run at the Pasadena Playhouse from October 24th through November 26th, 2006. The Atlanta run will be a co-production with the California theatre.

Sister Act, which is billed as "a fabulous disco spin on the heavenly hit movie," will feature a gospel-tinged score by composer Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast) and lyricist Glenn Slater; the two previously teamed up for the Disney animated film Home on the Range. Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, who wrote the book for the upcoming Broadway musical Princesses, will do the same for Sister Act.

Starring Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy and Harvey Keitel, Sister Act starred Goldberg as worldly singer Deloris Van Cartier, who witnesses a mob murder. For protection, she is impelled pose as a nun. Fitting in at the convent, however, proves somewhat difficult. The film, which was directed by Emilie Ardolino and featured a screenplay by Joseph Howard, was a smash hit at the box office and inspired a sequel--Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.

Casting has not yet been announced for Sister Act.

For more information on the ALLIANCE THEATRE, visit www.alliancetheatre.org. For more information on the Pasadena Playhouse (which is the state theater of California), visit www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.