Whoopi Goldberg Jokes She’s ‘Rusty’ Ahead of Her Return to Theater inAnnie: 'The Old Bones Are Creaking' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Whoopi Goldberg on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ on Nov. 6, 2024.Photo:Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Whoopi Goldbergis ready to hit the stage again!

The actress and television personality, 69, is making her anticipated return to theater as the infamous Miss Hannigan in the New York City run oftheAnnienational tour.

Goldberg’s run in the musical begins Dec. 11. The limited engagement will play from Dec. 4 through Jan. 5, 2025 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden before continuing with stops in Baltimore, Indianapolis, San Francisco and more.

Speaking with PEOPLE in an exclusive interview ahead of the show’s Big Apple opening, Goldberg jokes she feels out of practice despite having made her Broadway debut over 40 years ago in her namesake one-woman show.

“I’m rusty, trust me,” she says. “I won’t be as rusty when you see me, but the old bones are creaking as I move.”

Whoopi Goldberg and Hazel Vogel in a photoshoot for ‘Annie’.MSG Entertainment Holdings

MSG Entertainment Holdings

Whoopi Goldberg t the Key to West Hollywood Ceremony on July 20, 2024 in California.Jesse Grant/WWD via Getty

Jesse Grant/WWD via Getty

Over the course of her career, Goldberg has stepped into several iconic stage roles, such as the title character in the 2003 Broadway revival ofMa Rainey’s Black Bottom, Prologus and Pseudolus in the 1996 Broadway revival ofA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

But never has she played a villain. “I keep trying to get people to make me monsters [and] villains, and people are like ‘no,’ " Goldberg tells PEOPLE. “So these folks said, ‘Well, we’re not gonna listen to anybody else and we’re gonna offer you this part.’ "

Now, Goldberg says she is having “lots of fun” playing Miss Hannigan and interacting with the “fantastic” little girls who make up the orphanage.

“They’re all wonderful actors,” she says of her young costars. “They have been so open and so wonderful to me, and it makes it a pleasure to go to the rehearsals.”

Poster for the national tour of ‘Annie’.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

“The thing that I can say about this, which I love more than anything, is the group feel,” Goldberg shares. “The groove of all of us working together is something I missed, where you’re all working to get it together and actors are helping other actors.”

As for bringing the show to N.Y.C. during the holidays, the experience is special forThe Viewco-host, who has fond memories of spending her holidays growing up in Manhattan.

“We had all of New York to go and walk around,” recalls Goldberg. “It was Gimbels [department store] and Macy’s, the windows and the Santas. And that’s whatAnnieis. It is a whole tribute, really, to New York. It is what New York is and that is what I grew up with.”

“A lot of those places are kind of gone. Macy’s is there, but Gimbels is gone. So it is the feel of New York during the holidays I had as a kid,” adds Goldberg. “And when they said, ‘We’re gonna do this during the holidays,’ I thought, ‘Well, OK. I haven’t planned anything. Let’s do that! That perfect!’ "

National tour of ‘Annie’ on the first full day of rehearsal.BOND Theatrical

BOND Theatrical

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Alongside Goldberg,Anniestars Hazel Vogel in the title role, Christopher Swan as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, Julia Nicole Hunter as Grace and Mark Woodard as Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Also in the tour are Rhett Guter, Isabella De Souza Moore, Aria Valentina Aldea, Eva Lizette Carreon, Anna Dillon, Kylie Noelle Patterson, Olive Ross-Kline, Nora West, Stephen Cerf, Anthony DaSilva, Savannah Fisher, Alloria Frayser, Brooke Olivia Gatto, Caroline Glazier, Ryan Mulvaney, Joel Newsome, Melinda Parrett, Lawrence E. Street, Drew Tanabe and Stephanie Wahl.

Labradoodle Kevin will play Annie’s dog Sandy, Stefanie Londino will play Miss Hannigan in tour stops outside of the N.Y.C engagement and Avril Kagan is a swing for N.Y.C. performances only.

Tickets forAnnieare now on sale.

source: people.com