UMW Theatre presents ‘Nunsense.’
UMW Theatre will continue its 2024-2025 season with the musical Nunsense by Dan Goggin. Performances will be November 7-9, November 14-16, & November 21-23 at 7:30 p.m., and November 10, November 17, & November 23-24 at 2:00 p.m. in Klein Theatre, duPont Hall at the University of Mary Washington. Guests may also attend the Pay-What-You-Can Preview performance on November 6 at 7:30 p.m. The box office opens at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. AfterWords, a post-show talkback with the cast, will take place after the matinee performance on November 10. Tickets are $35 for standard admission and $30 for students, senior citizens, and military. Groups of ten or more can receive a discount as well.
After the convent’s cook poisons fifty-two sisters with her bad vichyssoise soup, five surviving nuns put on a cabaret performance to raise money to bury four of the remaining fifty-two dead sisters, whose burial money was spent on a very expensive television. Participating in the cabaret is an ex-circus performer who loves the spotlight, Mother Superior; her second in command and rival, Sister Hubert; the streetwise, bitter understudy, Sister Robert Anne; the dancing novice, Sister Leo; and the childlike, confused nun with amnesia, temporarily named Sister Amnesia. They perform solo numbers, dance numbers, quizzes, and even ventriloquism to raise the money they need. Nunsense is a musical comedy full of puns and pop culture references.
The concept for Nunsense originated as a line of greeting cards featuring nuns and a witty remark. Seeing the popularity of these cards, Goggins used the concept to create a cabaret show called The Nunsense Story which ran for 38 weeks. After the cabaret’s success, Goggins created a full-length theater production titled Nunsense. Nunsense opened Off-Broadway in 1985 and ran for ten years, the second longest run for an Off-Broadway show.
Nunsense is directed by Gregg Stull, professor of theatre and chair of the department of theatre & dance with musical direction by Chris Zavadowski and choreography by Samantha Reynolds. Scenic design is by assistant professor Bridgette Dennett, costume design is by associate professor Kevin McCluskey, and sound design is by associate professor Michael Benson. Lighting design is by guest artist Jason Arnold. For further information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit www.FredTix.com.