Broadway veteran, local actress team up for Marriott's 'Sister Act'

It's not every day that actors get to return to roles they've played before. But Chicago actress Hollis Resnik is doing just that in the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire's regional premiere of the 2011 Broadway musical "Sister Act."

Resnik plays the Mother Superior, the disapproving nun who agrees to shield an in-danger disco diva named Deloris Van Cartier from murderous mobsters in an inner-city Philadelphia convent.

Resnik played the role in the national tour of "Sister Act" for nearly two years starting in 2012. Local audiences would have seen her Mother Superior during the musical's three-week stint at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in November of 2012.

"I enjoy the role so I'm looking forward to it," said Resnik during a break at the Marriott's rehearsal studios in Buffalo Grove. "It's fun to do this one again. It's all different - it's in the round, it's all different people and you discover new things."

Playing "Sister Act" in the round is also an adjustment for Broadway veteran Stephanie Umoh ("Ragtime"), who is making her Marriott debut as Deloris Van Cartier.

"It has been challenging because you constantly have to be moving and considering all the angles," Umoh said. "But I don't mind. It helps keep scenes active."

Umoh is doing her utmost to make Deloris her own. The role was originated by Whoopi Goldberg in the hit 1992 film.

Umoh said audiences shouldn't focus on the film, though. That's because playwrights Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner reset the musical "Sister Act" to the 1970s. So all of the film's signature songs have been jettisoned in favor of a new disco-inspired score by lyricist Glenn Slater and composer Alan Menken ("Beauty and the Beast," "Newsies").

Rather than Goldberg, Umoh said she took inspiration from 1970s pop divas such as Donna Summer, Cher and Diana Ross for her approach to Deloris.

"It's the same lovable characters but a different experience than the movie," Umoh said. "Come and experience a different show."

It's also different for Resnik, despite logging in so many performances on the road.

"You just rise to the occasion," said Resnik about all the travel and variations in regional audiences to keep thing fresh on tour. "It never felt like a machine to me. It's always a different show."