Patina Miller, star of ’Sister Act: The Musical’, has announced that she will be leaving her lead role as lounge-singer-turned-nun Deloris Van Cartier on March 18, after more than three years with the production.

Based on the hit 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, ‘Sister Act: The Musical’ opened on London’s West End stage in 2009 with Patina Miller playing the lead role of Deloris who, after witnessing a murder committed by her gangster boyfriend, goes into hiding at a local convent, assumes a false identity under the name of Sister Mary Clarence, and inadvertently becomes the leader of the convent’s tone-deaf choir, who she transforms into a cultural sensation, despite butting heads with Mother Superior, played in the original film by Maggie Smith.

Miller’s stage performance drew rave reviews, earning her a 2010 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. The musical was so popular among London theatre-goers that it even lured Whoopi Goldberg, who serves as one of the show’s producers, into appearing for a brief run as Mother Superior.

During her run in the summer of 2010, she told reporters that she was too old to take on the main role of Deloris again and that the role was in good hands with Miller. Goldberg returned to the show in October, shortly before it drew to a close in October 2010 after an 18 month run.

Shortly after closing in London, the producers announced that they would be taking the show to New York’s Broadway stage – and that Patina Miller would be coming with them. With a new supporting cast and a slightly revised plot and songbook, the musical re-opened at the Broadway Theatre on April 20, 2011 to positive reviews and further recognition for Miller as she won a Theatre World Award and picked up her first Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in the Musical.

During a promotional trek for the musical’s Broadway debut, Miller admitted that the schedule which came with playing Deloris was incredibly intense and that she had led very little in the way of a social life while in London. Nevertheless, Miller forged ahead with the role and spoke of her joy at being able to originate a role on Broadway at such a young age (Miller is 27).

She also saw her Twitter following grow to over 4,500 followers as the New York theatre community took to her with ease, and as she gained a reputation for being eager to use the social media platform to engage with both passionate new fans in New York and loyal old fans back in London.

However, after less than 12 months on Broadway, Miller has announced that she will be leaving ‘Sister Act: The Musical’, to be replaced by former Disney star Raven-Symoné. This will mark the first major stage role for Symoné, who has enjoyed a long-running acting career, but Goldberg and fellow producers are hoping that the musical will continue to thrive without Miller’s impeccable presence and, more importantly, her soaring voice.

There is still a while to go before anyone will know if Symoné is indeed the right replacement, with Miller due to deliver approximately twenty further performances before she hangs up her habit for good, at which point all Broadway eyes will be fixated on Miller as she strives to prove that she has what it takes to succeed without the security of her ‘Sister Act’ family. One thing is for certain: Miller will not be forgotten quickly. As she sings in the musical’s seminal song:

All that glitz and glamour / they’re all right no doubt.
But what are you left with / when the lights go out?

I’ll have my sisters with me still / I’ll have my sisters, always will.
And with my sisters’ love / no star above will shine as bright as me.

And as a sister and a friend / I’ll be a sister ’til the end,
and no one on this earth can / change that fact -

I’m part of one terrific sister act.

Image Courtesy of  Brecon [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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Green Lantern is part of the DC Comic world coming to the big screen.  The movie follows Hal Jordan, a human who is chosen by a ring of infinite power to save Earth, from Parallax, a parasite attacking Earth.  Hal Jordan, a test pilot, is called forth to protect Earth by joining the Green Lantern Corps. —an intergalactic embassy that harnesses green energy through rings to protect the universe.

To those who have read the comics, there have been some changes in the transition from comic to movie.   The movie seems like it will follow the later series, as having Hal Jordan fight off the Parallax.  Hector Hammond is also in the movie and will have run-ins with not only Hal but with the fear monger, Parallax.  It seems like the movie will incorporate different areas and villains of Green Lantern from all different eras of the Comic, but will ultimately focus on the origins of Hal Jordan.

Directing the movie is the well-known action director Martin Campbell who created such titles like: 007 Goldeneye, Casino Royale, and The Mask of Zorro.  Having done these movies, it feels like he will be right at home with the action sequences of Green Lantern.  Nevertheless, it seems like Martin Campbell didn’t know the story of Green Lantern that well before he was put on the project, so the movie might not necessarily follow the story line of the comics religiously.  However, they did have Ozzy Iguanzo, a comic book expert, so they could set the record straight on some details.  Mister Campbell  had stated in The Telegraph that, “It was an extraordinary learning curve, conceptualizing the characters, going to another planet, deciding what the planet looks like and keeping a sort of reality, if you can call it that.”  However, despite the difficulties and differences from the comics, the producer/writer of Green Lantern is none other than Greg Berlanti, whom has worked on Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, an animated movie based around Hal Jordan, Kilowog and other Green Lanterns.

The cast has its fair share of stars like Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan/ Green Lantern.  Martin had picked Reynolds based upon his physical acting in “Buried”, and has been quoted saying in his production notes that, “he also physically looks the part, is charming, funny, and has a great sense of decency.“  Ryan Reynolds isn’t the only star in the movie.  Blake Lively (The Town) is taking on the role opposite of Reynolds as Carol Ferris, a fellow test pilot and lifelong friend of Hal Jordan.  Lively has this to say in the production notes about Green Lantern, ”… I love that the movie also has a great sense of fun and a hint of romance about it.”  Voices of Geoffrey Rush (King’s Speech) and Micheal Clarke Duncan (Green Mile) are used for Tomar-Re and Kilowog respectively.   Tim Robbins (Shawshank Redemption) also makes an appearance as Hector Hammond’s pushy father.

One thing that will make or break this movie is the special effects.  Spending about 50,000,000 dollars on them alone they should be pretty impressive.  Why spend so much?  Not only is making Parallax, Tomar-Re, and Kilowog entirely in CGI a task in itself, but trying to make an entire alien planet in less than a year is a daunting task.  Oa, the Green Lantern Corps. planet is all CGI, so creating an entire planet that looks realistic and pleasing to look at will take some serious skill.  What also is all CGI is the famous Green Lantern suit.  To do this, Reynolds is wearing a motion tracking suit.  Kind of like a leotard but soupped-up with motion tracking modules so that the artists can paste Green Lantern’s suit on Ryan Reynolds’s body. For such a daunting task there is good news.  People like Karen Goulekas (Spiderman) and  John DesJardin (Watchmen) are both overseers of the effects teams, and to top it all off Grant Major who worked on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will be the production designer.  Green Lantern may have a lot of daunting effects in over 1,300 of their shots, but they have chosen the right people in order to get the effects done well.

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