Press Room:
Nuncrackers: The Nunsense
Christmas Musical
The funniest “Nun”-crackers ever arrives just in time for
holiday fun!
'Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical opens at the Willows
Cabaret in Martinez
Concord, CA. October 19,
2007 – Those wacky Little Sisters of Hoboken are back at the Willows
Cabaret at the Campbell Theatre in Martinez. And this time, they’re
celebrating the holidays! Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical
opens November 1st and plays through December 30th. It stars the nuns you
love, plus Father Virgil, and four of Mount Saint Helen’s most talented
students. Featuring all new songs including "Twelve Days Prior to
Christmas," "Santa Ain’t Comin’ to Our House," "We Three Kings of Orient Are
Us," and "It’s Better to Give Than to Receive," this show is filled with
Nunsense-style humor, some of your favorite carols, and a “Secret Santa”
audience participation. Nuncrackers will make you laugh and maybe
even tug at your heartstrings. It’s the perfect way to ensure that your
holiday season is merry and bright! Author/Composer Dan Goggin
directs, with musical staging by Teri Gibson and musical direction by
Kim Vetterli.
As Nuncrackers opens, we discover the sisters celebrating the holiday
season, the highlight of which will be the taping of a “cable TV special” in
a makeshift studio in the basement of their convent. As the broadcast
unfolds, the nuns and some of their Convent school students gather together
to spread as much holiday cheer as they can muster - and perhaps learn the
true meaning of Christmas. As part of the broadcast, they plan to stage an
original ballet based on The Nutcracker starring the dancing Sister
Mary Leo as the Sugar Plum Fairy. But to their dismay, she is injured by one
of the children’s batons before she can make her grand entrance. Fuel is
added to the fire when the Convent’s cook, Sister Julia, fails to show up
and Father Virgil is forced to impersonate her. Lacking cooking expertise of
any kind, he struggles with a holiday fruitcake recipe – and things get
really interesting when the time comes to add the rum. Christmas carols
underscore the action throughout the show, so the halls definitely will be
decked with traditional music; it even adds its own “creative” carols,
including “Here We Come-a-Waffle-ing” and “The Holly and the Ivory.”
Nuncrackers features many of the same hilarious performers from
Nunsense and Nunsense Jamboree: the lovable Reverend Mother
played by Amy L. Washburn of El Sobrante; Sister Mary Hubert, the
Rev’s sidekick, played by Alma Sayles of Martinez; the streetwise
Sister Robert Ann, played by Deborah Del Mastro of Martinez; Sister
Mary Paul (aka Sister Amnesia) played by Mindy Lym of San Francisco;
and Father Virgil Manly Trott, played by David Auerbach of El
Sobrante.
Also, eight talented children will be on hand to play the students of Mount
Saint Helen’s: Jordan Dong (Moraga), Kyle Frattini (Walnut
Creek), Cristofer Holobetz (Lafayette), Benjamin King
(Concord), Amanda Neiman (Pleasant Hill), Scott Taylor
(Pleasant Hill), Ariel Valencia (Pleasant Hill), and Madison
Wheeler (Lafayette).
The music, written by award-winning composer Goggin, includes a variety of
vocal stylings including country, pop, and gospel, as well as some moving
ballads. Nuncrackers is the fourth show in Goggin’s series of
Nunsense musicals, and the third presented at the Willows Cabaret this
season. (Nunsense II: The Second Coming will play at the
Campbell Theatre starting in January 2008).
Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical was originally produced
as a DVD in 2001 starring Rue McClanahan and John Ritter. The stage version
then premiered at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in Minneapolis and received
its West Coast premiere at the Willows Theatre in 1993. Goggin was educated
by Marywood Dominican Sisters and each character in the Nunsense shows is
based on a nun he actually knew from his school days.
Nuncrackers is a fun-for-the-whole-family holiday musical. This show
is a “must see for anyone who can’t suppress a giggle,” says the
Minneapolis Star-Tribune; “A Holiday Delight,” according to the
Republican-American; and “immensely entertaining … it doesn’t get any
better!” says CBS News. (For more information about all of the Nunsense
shows, visit
www.nunsense.com).
When, Where, How Much?
Nuncrackers previews on Thursday,
November 1st at 7:30 pm. The show opens Friday, November 2nd at 8:00 pm and
runs through December 30, 2007. Evening performances are Wednesdays &
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, with matinees
Wednesdays at 3:30 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm.
Tickets are $15-$25, with discounts for seniors (65+), students (18-),
groups of 10 or more, and Preview performances.
For tickets and information, call (925) 798-1300 or visit
www.willowstheatre.org.
The Willows Cabaret at the Campbell
Theatre is located at 636 Ward Street, one block off Main Street in downtown
Martinez, CA 94553. Street parking is available within easy walking distance
of the theater.
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