Interview: SISTER ACT: BEHIND THE HABIT with Sherri L. Edelen

Today is the third installment of out weeklong series Sister Act: Behind The Habit. It’s time to introduce you to one more performer who brings the show to life eight times a week and this one is a legend of the DC theatre community to be sure. Sherri L. Edelen plays Mother Superior and trust me, it’s a performance for the holy books and beyond.

If you have been going to theatre in the DMV for any length of time, then you know Sherri’s work. Her many memorable performances at Signature Theatre include Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Cake Off, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Company, Walter Cronkite Is Dead, and many more.

Other area credits include Copenhagen and Gloria: A Life at Theater J, The Humans at Olney Theatre Center, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Dave, and Ann at Arena Stage, and Romeo and Juliet at Folger Theatre.

As a director, Sherri staged On Golden Pond and Steel Magnolias at Riverside Theatre.

She is the recipient of two Helen Hayes Awards for her work in Signature Theatre’s productions of Les Misérables and Side Show. She is also the recipient of a Barrymore Award for her performance in The Light in The Piazza at Philadelphia Theatre Company.

Sherri L. Edelen is one of those performers that never fails to deliver. Any of you that have seen her perform understand exactly what I mean. Her Mother Superior just adds another knockout performance to the list of her impressive career.

“Here Within These Walls” of Ford’s Theatre is where Sherri L. Edelen and company are giving truly heavenly performances in Sister Act and will continue to do so through May 17th.

Growing up, were you a theatre kid?

I didn’t really get interested in theatre until high school.  I did high school plays from my sophomore year to senior year. However, my parents enjoyed going to live shows and movies.  I tagged along. 

Where did you receive your training?

I went to Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. I’m from Nashville. I went in as an English major thinking I’d teach school but started taking all the drama courses. I changed my major to Theatre with minors in English, French and Speech & Hearing Therapy. I really liked school.  One of my big regrets is that I did not get a master’s degree.

What was your first professional job as a performer?

My first paid job was with the Nashville Academy Theatre, now called Nashville Children’s Theatre. I was Lucy Pevensie in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. My first production as a member of AEA was in Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Kennedy Center in 1992.

Can you please tell us a little something about the character you play in Ford’s Theatre’s production of Sister Act? 

I play Mother Superior who runs the convent, Queen of Angels.  There isn’t much background on her life in the play.  But to flush out the character, see next answer.

Can you please talk about how you prepare to play a role? Is the process the same for every show? 

I usually go through the script and lyrics to see if there is background information on the character I’m playing.  I look for how the other characters respond to her, i.e., do they treat her with respect, do they use any adjectives to describe her?  I also look at how the character speaks.  In Sister Act, Mother Superior uses the word “shall” and speaks in full sentences rather than fragments. This implied, to me, that she came from a highly educated family.  I surmised that she was from a wealthy family in Connecticut.  Her father was an attorney and heavily involved with not only their parish, but the diocese as well.  Her mother served on the Ladies Auxiliary at their parish and raised their four sons.  Mother Superior was her mother’s fifth child and only girl.  Her career options at that time in the late 1930s were teaching, nursing, secretary and/or wife and motherhood.  But because of her strong Catholic background, and it was the time of the Great Depression, she was called into a life in the convent where she taught in the Catholic school attached to the convent. 

You are married to actor Thomas Adrian Simpson. Have you ever appeared opposite each other in a production? If yes, what is it like going home every night with your leading man? 

Tom and I have appeared opposite each other several times –

Outside Mullingar at the Fusion Theatre in New Mexico in 2014.  (My favorite!)

Company at Signature Theatre in 2013.  Several cast members were married in that production.  

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at Signature Theatre in 2012.

The Witches of Eastwick at Signature in 2005. We were featured ensemble.

As for what it’s like going home with my leading man, well, it’s no different than any other night.  But it does make running lines a lot easier.

You have worked in pretty much every big theatre in the DMV.  What is it about performing in this area that you enjoy so much?

I stayed here in this area because theatres kept hiring me and the cost of living was cheaper than NYC.  I’m far too practical for my own good.

After Sister Act concludes its run at Ford’s Theatre in mid-May, do you have any productions lined up for the rest of 2025 and into 2026 that you can tell us about?

I have no work lined up.  I start training to teach Pilates this June and will concentrate on that throughout the year.

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

Additional photo support provided by Signature Theatre's Publicist and Marketing Manager Zachary Flick.

Sister Act Logo designed by Gary Erskine.