The View Hosts Wowing Sister Act 2 Reunion — Watch Whoopi and Former Co-Stars Perform ‘Joyful, Joyful’
Oh, happy day! Whoopi Goldberg and The View celebrated the 30th anniversary of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Wednesday by reuniting the show’s co-host with some of her former co-stars — which included a vibrant performance of the film’s breakout track “Joyful, Joyful.”
To start, Kathy Najimy (Sister Mary Patrick), Wendy Makenna (Sister Mary Robert), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Florence Watson), music supervisor Marc Shaiman and music producer Mervyn Warren sat in studio to discuss the time that’s passed since the sequel’s release and why the movie still feels so special.
“I thought the kids were miraculous,” said Najimy. “I felt like they were in our veins right away. We were all one huge family. They got the tone of it. They were so talented and gorgeous and smart and fun.”
Makenna recalled a time in San Francisco where she, Najimy and Goldberg went to a porn shop dressed in their nun outfits, which clearly surprised the ex-adult film star at the counter. Ralph then briefly discussed what it was like playing Lauryn Hill’s mother and the response to her big scene’s memes and TikToks. (You know the one: “Singing does not put food on the table!”)
The returning former child actors who appeared and performed throughout the episode include Tanya Blount (Tanya), Ryan Toby (Ahmal), Monica Calhoun, David Kater, Frank Odell Howard, Dionna Nishelle, Jermaine Montell, Deondray Gossfield, Ashley Thompson, Deedee Magno Hall and Alex Martin (Whoopi’s real-life daughter). The “kids” each had a chance to share fond memories from the set or express their gratitude to Goldberg for her kindness during production.
But the show’s biggest moment occurred at the end of the hour when the cast joined together for a rousing rendition of “Joyful, Joyful,” which was famously sung in the film’s climax. Goldberg dressed in full nun’s attire for the song as the cast and a new choir of kids performed live.
Watch the performance by pressing PLAY on the video above (and see bonus song “Oh, Happy Day” below), then let us know what you thought of the Sister Act 2 reunion by dropping some comments!
Brought tears to my eyes with the biggest grin !
Wonderful !
Tanya Trotter what a set of pipes!!
I know her as Tanya Blount, she’s also the lead vocalist for the group War and Treaty.
But where was Jennifer Love Hewitt?
This was my question, too!!!!
Maybe she’s on vacation while hiatus is on? Now’s the time to get those trips in before she has to be back in the studio.
She was there in a video and said she was so sorry she couldn’t be there in person.
It was awesome and to find what the cast has moved on to do now.
Well done. Very enjoyable. Brought back a lot of memories.
That was amazing. I’m smiling and crying over here.
Big Smile! Need to watch the movie now again for the 200th time!
Loved all the Sister Act movies. Always lifted me up and made me smile.
I didn’t get a chance to see it, but I’m going to watch it on Demand this evening.
I listened to ‘Oh, Happy Day’ at another site BUT the space where the ‘Joyful, Joyful’ video is supposed to be IS BLANK! No play button to press!
They’ve posted the video on YouTube so you can watch it now. Very highly recommend.
MMC REPRESENT!
YES!! YES !!! Yes!!! WE NEED MORE OF THIS! LOVELY, WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC! THIS MADE MY WHOLE WEEK ! I HOPE THEY PUT OUT A RECORD OR GO ON TOUR, MAYBE A SISTER ACT 3 WE NEED THIS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
This makes me want to watch Sister Act 2 again. Okay! Plans for the evening!
Why did they exclude Jennifer Love Hewitt and Lauren Hill?
What’s more likely, that they were excluded, or that they were invited and declined to come?
Whoppi should not be wearing a habit. That is sacrilegious.
Well I want them to bring back EAST NEW YORK it was so good I was looking forward to season 2 please have them bring it back.
The videos were cool BUT where was Frankie (Devin Kamin)?