Music Theatre West will stage the comedy review “Nunsense” from July 23 through July 31 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in downtown Logan.
LOGAN – Music Theatre West has announced a mixed cast of stage veterans and newcomers for its upcoming production of “Nunsense.”
The improbable premise of the musical comedy by Dan Groggin is that some surviving members of the Little Sisters of Hoboken are staging a variety show to raise funds to bury their coreligionists who fell victim to an unfortunately lethal recipe mistake in their convent’s kitchen.
That may not sound funny, but it is.
Teresa Jones will play the convent’s fussy mother superior, Sister Mary Regina, who is secretly a former circus performer who yearns to return to the spotlight.
Ms. Jones has numerous local stage credits, including roles in MTW productions of “Jane Eyre” in 2012, “MTW on Broadway” in 2013 and “My Fair Lady” in 2017.
Julie Allen will play Sister Mary Hurbert, the convent’s second-in-command who is bucking for a promotion.
Julie Allen is best remembered for her leading role in the 2017 production of “White Christmas” by the Four Seasons Theatre Company.
Celeste Baillio has been cast as the childlike Sister Mary Amnesia, who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head.
Ms. Baillio is a favorite with local audiences. Most recently, she delivered an over-the-top portrayal of the drunken Miss Hannigan in the 2020 MTW production of “Annie” and an equally memorable turn as a teenager trapped in her mother’s body in the Four Seasons production of “Freaky Friday” in 2019.
Ginny Teuscher will play Sister Robert Anne, a streetwise nun from Brooklyn.
Finally, Chloe Allen has been cast a Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is determined to be the world’s first ballerina nun.
Chloe Allen was one of the standout dancers in the MTW 2019 production of “The Music Man.”
“Nunsense” is wildly irreverent, but never out-right blasphemous. It’s all just good clean fun.
The comedy review will debut July 23 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in downtown Logan, with performances continuing through July 31.
With only five performers, Ms. Baillio says that “Nunsense” was ideally suited for a MTW production now, since the troupe will already have a large-cast production of “The Sound of Music” in rehearsals during the summer.
“Nunsense” originally opened as an off-Broadway cabaret show in 1985. Expanded to a full-length musical, the show ran for more than 3,500 performances to become the second- longest-running Off-Broadway show in history.
“Nunsense” has since been adapted for television and spawned several sequels and spin-offs.