Alexandra Burke gets into the habit for smash-hit

The feel-good, smash-hit musical Sister Act comes to the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, for a two-week stay with Alexandra Burke in the role made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the film version.

The show — directed and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood — opens at the Theatre Royal on Monday and runs until February 11.

Sister Act tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder.

She is put into protective custody in the one place she won’t be found — a convent.

Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.

The show is described as a tribute to the universal power of friendship, sisterhood and music.

The original film, which also starred Maggie Smith, was released in 1992 followed by its sequel, Back In The Habit, the following year.

The musical version opened in the West End’s London Palladium in 2009 and on Broadway two years later. It has now been seen by more than six million people worldwide.

It features original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Enchanted) and dance routines and songs inspired by Motown, soul and disco.

Alexandra Burke will play Deloris. She recently starred as Rachel Marron in the national tour of The Bodyguard, a role she also played in the West End.

Alexandra shot to fame after winning the fifth series of television talent show The X Factor and her resulting first single, Hallelujah, went on to sell more than a million copies in the UK, a first for a British female soloist.

She will only be in the evening performances of Sister Act. Her part will be played by Joanna Francis for matinee performances.

Joanna, who plays Michelle in the evening performances, has recently finished performing in the West End production of The Lion King.

Jon Robyns, who plays Eddie, has played many leading roles in the West End including Rod/Princeton in the original cast of Avenue Q, Marius in Les Misérables, and Galahad in Spamalot.

Mother Superior is played by Karen Mann and Aaron Lee Lambert is Curtis.

Rosemary Ashe, who plays Sister Mary Lazarus has many West End credits, including Carlotta in The Phantom Of The Opera, Miss Andrew in Mary Poppins, and Felicia Gabriel in The Witches Of Eastwick, for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for best supporting performance in a musical.