A Sister Act for Craig and soul star Alexandra at the Lyceum

Talk to the hand: Alexandra Burke in Sister Act

As well as directing the Strictly tour that comes to Sheffield Arena later this month, the judge that dance show audiences love to hate directs million-selling X Factor winner Alexandra Burke in the hit musical comedy Sister Act at the Lyceum Theatre.

Based on the hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, Sister Act tells the hilarious story of disco diva Deloris Van Cartier (Alexandra Burke). Her life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder and is hidden in a convent under protective custody.

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

Alexandra Burke, who was recently seen on the Lyceum stage in another musical adaptation of a hit film, The Bodyguard, originally rose to fame after winning the fifth series of The X Factor.

Her debut number one single, Hallelujah, sold over one million copies in the UK, a first for a British female soloist.

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

Sister Act opened in the West End at the London Palladium in 2009 and enjoyed an 18-month run to October 2010.

This all-new production is directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood.

The cast includes musical theatre stars Joanna Francis (The Lion King, The Harder They Come) as Michelle, Jon Robyns (Avenue Q, Spamalot) as Eddie, Karen Mann (Fiddler on the Roof, Copacabana) as Mother Superior and Rosemary Ashe (The Phantom of the Opera, Oliver!) as Sister Mary Lazarus.

Sister Act is at the Lyceum from January 16 to 21.

Box office: at the Crucible, call 0114 249 6000 or go online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.

n The Strictly live tour stars dance pairings Louise Redknapp and Kevin Clifton, Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse, Ore Oduba and Karen Clifton, Ed Balls and Katya Jones, Daisy Lowe and Aljaž Skorjanec and Lesley Joseph and Gorka Marquez, as well as a cast of professional dancers.

The show comes to Sheffield on January 25 and 26.

Tickets are available from the Arena box office, online at Sheffield Arena or through the ticket hotline on 0114 256 56 56.