Whoopi Goldberg returns to the scene of her Broadway breakthrough.

(From AP Worldstream)

Byline: MARK KENNEDY

Whoopi Goldberg is back on Broadway in the one-woman show that launched her career 20 years ago, and much is the same: same theater, same big-name producer and much of the same material.

Another thing that's the same? She still has no idea what might happen next on stage.

Two decades after wowing critics in "Whoopi" with her portrayal of five characters _ ranging from a street-wise drug dealer to a blissed-out surfer _ Goldberg has updated the menagerie that lives only in her head. Who exactly shows up on stage, however, is another matter entirely.

"I have less control than I would like," says Goldberg, 49, sounding more like a medium than a playwright. "It's one thing to write this stuff down on a piece of paper. But when I hit the boards, whoever decides to come out is who comes out."

During an interview in her funky downtown apartment, Goldberg sparks cigarette after cigarette as she shares a sofa with her hairless cat, Oliver, and explains this strange alchemy and her decision to revive the show. "You know how you have a 30th birthday? This is a 20-year-mark for me. And in a funny way, it's just to say, 'Wow. I'm still here after 20 years. What a shock!'"