“Sister Act 2'”s Ryan Toby Recalls Playing Ding-Dong Ditch with Castmates Including Lauryn Hill (Exclusive)
The actor and several of his castmates reunited for the film's 30th anniversary on a June 5 episode of 'The View'
The memories have been flooding in for Ryan Toby since he reunited with his Sister Act 2 castmates on a June 5 episode of The View.
The actor, along with other actors from the beloved 1993 movie, visited the daytime show to commemorate the film's 30th anniversary alongside View host and Sister Act star Whoopi Goldberg (who got "back in the habit" to lead the cast in some of the film's most memorable songs).
"[There] were a lot of tears," he tells PEOPLE exclusively. "A lot of emotion, a lot of memories. A lot of, 'Oh my gosh, do you remember when this happened? And that happened? Some memories not so good. Some very embarrassing ... But it was all love. It was just so surreal ... I'm not like a reunion kind of guy, but this was a big deal. Very emotional."
Though Toby remembers being in awe of the movie set and the amount of work that went into creating a film, he tells PEOPLE some of his favorite memories were of the various shenanigans he and his friends got into to kill time.
"Deondray [Gossfield] was reminding me of something that I really don't remember, but he was like, 'Do you remember when you, me and Lauryn [Hill] took Lauryn's car and were driving around in the Hollywood Hills playing Ding-Dong Ditch? Going to people's houses, ringing the door, daring each other to ring the doorbell and running off?'"
Toby, who went on to pursue music in the group City High, feels nostalgic looking back at moments like this. "We were kids," he says fondly. "We were just goofy kids, bored on Friday night. We couldn't go to the club or anything like that, so we were just doing what goofy kids would do."
Related: Sister Act 2 Cast Reunites to Sing 'Joyful, Joyful' and 'Oh Happy Day,' 30 Years After Film — Watch
One of the highlights of the reunion was, of course, Toby getting to perform his showstopping solo in the choral song "Oh Happy Day." And while audiences were ecstatic to hear him sing it again, he says stepping back into that role after 30 years was nerve-wracking.
"So, fun fact: We never performed that song live. What you see in the movie was prerecorded and rehearsed, that was acting. We recorded that song in the studio and we lip-synced for the filming ... The reunion was the first time we sang it live," he says.
"Now at the reunion, we only had three hours of rehearsal. So, 30 years later, three hours of rehearsal ... there were a lot of nerves. A lot of nerves, a lot of pressure for me," he admits.
"I'm like, 'Wow, I'm not that same little kid with the Mickey Mouse voice anymore.' I didn't know how people were going to receive it. If it's going to be a letdown or people are going to be understanding and be like, 'Well, it was a movie and he's not a little kid anymore.'"
Needless to say, he delivered — and got flooded with positive reactions from enthusiastic fans on social media.
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (a sequel to 1992's Sister Act) followed Whoopi Goldberg in her role as "Sister Mary Clarence" (her identity in the witness protection program) as she tried to teach kids in a troubled school how to sing in order to save their school.
Toby was one of a talented crew of young actors which included Gossfield, Hill, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Monica Calhoun, David Kater, DeeDee Magno Hall, Alex Martin, Frank Odell Howard, Diona Nichelle, Jermaine Montell, Tanya Trotter and Ashley Thompson. All of them (with the exception of Hewitt and Hill) were in attendance at the reunion.
Some of the adults in the cast, including Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena and Sheryl Lee Ralph, were also present, while Jennifer Lewis, Erica Campbell and Alanna Ubach sent their love virtually. Music supervisors Marc Shaiman and Mervyn Warren attended as well.
And though he admits the group wasn't in contact before filming The View, Toby says his phone has been "buzzing nonstop" ever since they came back together.
"There's this group chat now," which was created by one of Whoopi's granddaughters, he says. "[It's been] going ever since the taping of it ... We rehearsed on May 28, shot the 29th and then it aired on June 5, so the last two weeks have been pretty exciting."
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Earlier this year, Goldberg told PEOPLE Sister Act 3 is "still on the way," but not much else has been revealed about the highly anticipated third film. Toby, however, is ready whenever and if ever that phone call comes.
"[Whoopi] has been talking about it, I feel like since 2020. It was the first time she even mentioned trying to get Sister Act 3 going. There's a lot of moving parts that go into getting a film really green-lit and off the ground and in theaters. So I am not one to get overexcited," he explains.
"No, I don't know anything about the plot line. I don't know if I'm going to be in it. Hopefully, I will. I mean, I think the reunion show was really good just to reintroduce and remind everybody of our talent," he says. "I was letting Whoopi know like, 'Hey, I'm available,' and she said, 'Hi, be on the lookout.'"
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