Interview: SISTER ACT: BEHIND THE HABIT with Joe Mallon

Today in our weeklong series Sister Act: Behind The Habit, you are going to meet another one of the performers to makes the show come alive eight performances a week. Please meet Joe Mallon who plays Eddie Souther.

If you attend productions at Ford’s Theatre regularly, then you know Joe’s work for sure. He has previously performed there in Little Shop of Horrors, Shout Sister Shout!, The Trip to Bountiful, A Christmas Carol, and Death of a Salesman. When not performing in Sister Act, Joe can be found at Ford’s Theatre in my favorite DC theatre rite of spring offering One Destiny. I guess he never leaves the building at this time of year.

Joe’s work is not limited to Ford’s Theatre by any means. Other area credits include Fiddler on The Roof at Arena Stage, The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Round House Theatre, Coriolanus, Wallenstein, and A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream at Shakespeare Theatre Company and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown at Imagination Stage which received a Helen Hayes Award for best TYA Production. At Kennedy Center Joe has performed in Earthrise, Elephant and Piggie, and the long running Shear Madness.

Other regional credits include Hamlet at Virginia Shakespeare Theater, Greater Tuna at Act Two Playhouse, Picnic and Last Night of Ballyhoo at Montgomery Theater, Kid Simple at Azuka, and The Fantasticks at Kimmel Center.

Judging from Joe’s credits, it’s easy to see how versatile a performer he is and why he continues to work season after season. He really is “That Guy!”

Sister Act continues its run at Ford’s Theatre through May 17th.

When did you first get interested in performing?

I actually remember the exact moment when I fell in love with performing.  When I was a kid, I was watching an episode of Growing Pains on television, and in this particular episode, a friendly older character passes away abruptly.  I was inconsolable and began sobbing.  My mother had to explain to me that it was only make believe and that the people in the show were called actors. I knew right then and there that I wanted to make people feel as strongly as I had just been made to feel.

Where did you receive your training?

I received a BFA in Acting from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.  I have also received an MFA in Acting from the University of South Carolina.

What was your first professional job as a performer?

I can’t remember my very first professional job, but I remember my reaction to receiving my first paycheck, because I still have the same reaction when getting paid today.  I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to get paid for something I love to do so much.  It’s truly a blessing.

Can you please tell us something about the character you play in Sister Act?

I play “Sweaty” Eddie Souhter a Philadelphia police officer trying to keep Deloris (the main character) safe by hiding her in a convent awaiting a trial where she is to testify.  He’s a good guy who wears his heart on his sleeve.  Not exactly the smoothest operator, but tons of heart.  It’s a fun role, full of charm and physical comedy.  I’m having so much fun playing the part.

You are in a unique situation at Ford’s Theatre because you perform Sister Act in the evenings (with matinees) and daytimes you are part of it’s two character history play called One Destiny. Can you please tell us a little something about One Destiny?

One Destiny is a 35-minute show about the Lincoln assassination told through the eyes of two people that were there that day: Harry Ford, the owner of the theatre, and Harry Hawk, the actor that was onstage when Booth jumped out of the box after shooting Lincoln.  Both characters reenact the events leading up to that fateful night in order to work through their own PTSD from the assassination.  It’s a brilliant show and an honor to be a part of.

For someone who has performed at Ford’s Theatre quite a bit, does it ever get intimidating always having the presidential box where Lincoln was assassinated in your peripheral vision while performing?

It’s an honor that I never take lightly.  Lincoln loved the theatre, and I truly believe that we are helping to keep his memory alive whenever we use the theatre for what he would have wanted: to entertain.

Of all the roles you have played at Ford’s Theatre thus far, do any stick out as particular favorites?

They are all fun for different reasons.  What other job lets you go from being sadistic leather-wearing dentist – Little Shop of Horrors – to a lovable, dorky cop in the span of a year?

After Sister Act closes in mid-May, what does the rest of 2025 and into 2026 look like for you workwise?

I will be back doing A Christmas Carol here at Ford’s, where I play the Clock Vendor.  That is such a wonderful production, and I love being a part of it.  Other than that, it’s currently audition season for next year, so fingers crossed!

Special thanks to Ford's Theatre's Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Sam Zein for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

Sister Act Logo designed by Gary Erskine.