New Willows Cabaret at the Campbell Theatre to be
Worldwide Home of 'Nunsense' and the Nunsense Museum
 

Musical Comedy Sensation Comes to Martinez

Tickets on sale now 

Concord, CA.  May 1, 2007 – In 1981, a Dominican brother sent Dan Goggin, a former student and Broadway actor, a store model dressed in full nun’s habit as a joke. Dan and his buddies nicknamed their new friend “Sister Mary Mannequin” and soon developed a successful line of greeting cards featuring the silent sister. In no time, the story of the “Little Sisters of Hoboken” emerged, complete with songs and sketches, and Nunsense, the phenomenally successful international hit musical comedy, was born.

Now, after 25 years, Sister Mary Mannequin finally has a permanent home – at the Willows Cabaret at the Campbell Theater in Martinez, CA – international home of Nunsense and the Nunsense Museum, where she will be on full display, along with memorabilia, souvenirs and collectibles from over 5,000 productions of Nunsense and the five sequels (so far) in the unique musical series.

The Willows Theatre Company will present a celebratory revival of the most popular musical production in its history to open its new Cabaret Theater. Nunsense will play from May 9 – July 22, 2007 (UPDATED), at the brand new Willows Cabaret at the Campbell Theatre in downtown Martinez, CA. Nunsense follows a fictitious order of merry nuns, the “Little Sisters of Hoboken,” as they put on a fund-raising show in their school, Mt. St. Helen’s (home of The Volcanoes). The production will be directed by Mr. Goggin, with musical staging by Teri Gibson.

Production History
Nunsense premiered in New York City at the Baldwin Theatre in 1986, where it won four Outer Critics' Circle Awards, including “Best Off-Broadway Musical.” It transferred to the John Barrymore Theatre on 42nd Street, where it ran for over 10 years, becoming the second longest-running off-Broadway musical of all time. The vaudeville-style musical comedy was first produced by the Willows Theatre Company (then known as "CitiArts Theatre") in November 1990, where it played in an abandoned roller rink for over eight months, winning the local “Shellie” award for artistic director Richard Elliott. The production was transferred to five different theaters over the next three years, becoming the longest-running production in East Bay history. It had been seen by over 33,000 people when it closed on December 5, 1993.

Nunsense 2- The Second Coming received its Northern California premiere at the Willows Theatre on October 11, 1993, where it played for over five months and was seen by almost 14,000 fans. It subsequently played in a commercial production at San Francisco's Theatre on the Square in the summer of 1994. The Willows Theatre has since become the west coast premiere home of the Nunsense series of musicals, including Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree (1996), Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical (1999), Meshuggah-Nuns! (2003) and Nunsensations! The Nunsense Vegas Revue (2006).

The Story of Nunsense
Nunsense (the original) introduces the Little Sisters of Hoboken, who operate Mt. St. Helen's School in Hoboken, New Jersey. Originally founded as a missionary order, they started out running a leper colony on an island south of France. Forced to leave the island when they lost control to a group of Protestant competitors, they returned to Hoboken. They went unnoticed until one day their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, unwittingly served some tainted soup and 52 sisters died of botulism.

Fortunately, a few of the sisters were off playing bingo with some Maryknolls. Upon returning to the convent, Mother Superior had a vision and was told to start a nun greeting card company to raise funds for the burials. The cards were an enormous success and -- thinking there was plenty of money -- Reverend Mother bought a VCR for the convent. When she realized there was only enough money left to bury 48 of the victims, she decided to stage a talent show to raise the money to bury the last four dead sisters, who were put on ice in the convent freezer, much to the dismay of Sister Julia.

The setting of Nunsense is the resulting fund-raising show put on by Reverend Mother and four of the sisters, all with their own special talents. The participants include: the novice Sister Mary Leo, who dons her toe shoes to dance “The Dying Nun” ballet; Brooklyn-born Sister Robert Anne, who sings “I Just Want to Be a Star” and entertains with her own brand of “habit humor”; gospel-singing Mistress of Novices Sister Mary Hubert, who brings down the house with "Holier Than Thou"; and the lovable Sister Mary Amnesia, who showed up on the convent doorstep one day unable to remember her real name, only that a crucifix had fallen on her head. The fun-filled evening is packed with music, dancing, jokes, nun-puns, and even a bingo game at intermission ($25 cash jackpot)!

The Company
Amy L. Washburn* will portray Reverend Mother. Ms. Washburn was most recently seen in Menopause: The Musical at Pier 39 in San Francisco, as the Iowa Housewife, and has performed locally with Pacific Repertory Theatre, Center Repertory Theatre, and Shakespeare at Stinson Beach. At the Willows Theatre, she has appeared in Deathtrap, The Night of the Hunter, Meshuggah-Nuns!, and Merrily We Roll Along.

Deborah Del Mastro* returns as Sister Robert Anne, a role she originated in Nunsense Jamboree, Nuncrackers, and Meshuggah-Nuns!, and can be heard on the original cast recordings of these shows. Ms. Del Mastro has toured, filmed, and shared a stage (in habit) with fellow Nunsense nuns Georgia Engel, Dawn Wells, Dody Goodman, Kaye Ballard, Lee Meriwether, Vicki Lawrence, Rue McClanahan, Mimi Hines, and Darlene Love. She recently appeared in the 20th Anniversary All Star Nunsense National Tour.

Alma Sayles* returns as Sister Hubert, a role she played in the original record-breaking Willows Theatre production of Nunsense in 1990. For several years, Ms. Sayles toured California and Hawaii in the award-winning San Francisco cabaret review of Jerry Herman’s Tune the Grand Up. She has won Shellie awards as “Best Actress in a Musical” for Anything Goes, Gypsy, and Mame.

Sister Amnesia will be played by Alexandra Kaprielian*, who has most recently performed in productions of Beauty and the Beast and Ragtime at Woodminster Amphitheater. She has appeared locally with Broadway by the Bay, Peninsula Civic Light Opera, Palo Alto Players, and 42nd Street Moon. Nunsense marks her Willows Theatre Company debut.

Tania Johnson will be portraying the novice, Sister Leo. Ms. Johnson was most recently seen as Sr. Leo in Nunsensations! at the Willows this past January. Other Willows productions include Mountain Days: The John Muir Musical, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and The Rothschilds. Tania has performed locally with 42nd St. Moon, American Musical Theater of San Jose, Guggenheim Entertainment, Theatre on San Pedro Square, and TheatreWorks She has also toured with the National Jewish Theatre Festival and can be heard singing on the cast album of The MeshugaNutcracker!

*Member, Actors Equity Association.

Author and director Dan Goggin received the 1986 Outer Critics' Circle Awards given to Nunsense for Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Music. Nunsense and Nunsense 2: The Second Coming, both starring Rue McClanahan, have been recorded for the A&E Television Network. Nunsense 3: The Jamboree toured the U.S. starring Georgia Engel and has been recorded for television at the Grand Ole Opry starring Vicki Lawrence. Nunsense A-Men! opened at the 47th Street Theatre in New York in June 1998 and has since been produced with Laugh-In’s Arte Johnson, impressionist Frank Gorshin, and Olympic champion Greg Louganis. Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical premiered in October 1998, followed by a national tour starring Dody Goodman, Jeff Trachta, and Dawn Wells. A Nuncrackers television special which played on PBS starring Rue McClanahan with guest star John Ritter received an Emmy nomination for Best Musical Score. Dan's project, Meshuggah-Nuns!: The Ecumenical Nunsense premiered in September 2002. The all-star touring production of Nunsense starring Kaye Ballard, Georgia Engel, Mimi Hines, Darlene Love, and Lee Meriwether marked the 20th anniversary of the original show. Mr. Goggin premiered the latest installment in the series, Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue in 2005. Rumor has it he is busy working on the next edition of this unique musical series.

The scenic design for Nunsense is by Barry Axtell, musical direction by Kim Vetterli, costume design by Christine Crook, sound design by Sean McStravick, and lighting design by Robert Anderson.

“Delightful high-spirited entertainment. A hail of fun and frolic. Wacky and outrageous with a hysterical anything-goes sense of fun,” said critic Stephen Holden of The New York Times about the original production. With more than 5,000 productions worldwide, and having been translated into 21 languages, Nunsense is truly an international musical comedy phenomenon. (For more information about all of the Nunsense shows, visit www.nunsense.com).

Nunsense is the perfect summer confection for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, as long as you have a funny bone to tickle and an appreciation for good old-fashioned entertainment!

When, Where, How Much?
Nunsense previews on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 7:30 pm, and Thursday, May 10 at 7:30 pm. An invitation-only Gala performance is scheduled for Friday, May 11, 2007, at 8:00 pm, featuring special guests (and former Nunsense nuns) Georgia Engel, Lee Meriwether, and Betty Garrett. The show opens Saturday, May 12 at 8:00 pm and runs through July 29, 2007. Evening performances are Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, with matinees Sundays at 3 pm. UPDATED: There will also be special added matinees on certain Wednesdays at 3:30 pm and Saturdays at 2:00 pm (consult performance schedule for dates).

Tickets are $15-$25, with discounts for seniors (65+), students (18-), groups of 10 or more, and Preview performances.

For reservations 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 walking distance of the theater.