Beyonce Takes Sister Act Back to Screen???

Sister Act started on screen of course – in the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg – and after the success of the new stage musical version starring Patina Miller, it may be returning to cinemas, with another big name in the role of soul sister Deloris van Cartier.

According to the Daily Mail, pop star Beyonce Knowles was so won over by the Alan Menken musical, which she caught at the West End’s London Palladium last month while taking a break from her current UK concert tour, that she’s requested that Disney turn it into a film vehicle for her. Ahead of that, she’s considering recording one of the big numbers from the musical’s original score, “Take Me to Heaven”. The former member of pop trio Destiny’s Child had success with another stage-to-screen crossover, Dreamgirls, in 2006.

Transplanted to 1970s Philadelphia, the musical version of Sister Act tells the story of disco diva Deloris, who, after witnessing a murder and being put in protective police custody in a convent, brings some soul to the church choir, much to the initial consternation of the Mother Superior. The original film of grossed over $200 million worldwide and spawned a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. The musical has an original score by Alan Menken with lyrics by his long-time collaborator Glenn Slater. The book is by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner.

The Broadway premiere of Sister Act is planned for October 2010 – so, says the Daily Mail, any film would have to wait until after that. In the meantime, the West End cast recording is due to be released here on 27 July 2009.