The smash-hit musical comedy Nunsense returns to Scranton on March 22 and 23 at the People’s Security Theater on the campus of Lackawanna College. Our Cabaret Productions is partnering with Lackawanna in this professional theater fundraising event to support higher education in the region.
The music and antics of the Little Sisters of Hoboken will entertain audiences on Saturday, March 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35. Patrons can also enjoy pre-show dinner or brunch from St. Julia’s Kitchen before each show at 409 on Adams, the college’s student-run restaurant. Advanced reservations are required, $45 per person. Tickets for the show, brunch, dinner, and a VIP meet-the-cast reception following the March 22 performance are available online at ourcabaret.com.
The show will star Rob Misko (Carbondale) as Rev. Mother and John Baldino (Clarks Summit) as Sr. Mary Hubert with Laura Lockwood (Moscow) as Sr. Mary Leo, Christine McGeachie (Peckville) as Sr. Mary Amnesia, and Courtney Rosenkrans (Scott Township) as Sr. Robert Anne. Nunsense is produced by Baldino and directed by Misko with tap choreography by Ballroom ONE Dance Company, Eynon.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for our cast and crew as we celebrate our company’s 20th anniversary,” says Baldino who is general manager of Our Cabaret Productions and an assistant professor at Lackawanna. “The People’s Security Theater at Lackawanna College is a special gem in a city so rich in theater history and Nunsense is a gem of a show in the musical theater world. Bringing them together will be a tremendous experience for faculty, students, staff, supporters of the college, and theater-goers all over northeastern Pennsylvania. I’m also eager for my students and colleagues to meet Sr. Hubert.”
“I have had a love affair with Nunsense since I first saw the off-Broadway production in 1985,” says Misko, who directed the first non-Equity production of Nunsense in the world in Carbondale and has performed as Rev. Mother more than 150 times. “And it’s always special to direct and perform in the show. To mount a Nunsense production alongside my closest friends in a space like the People’s Security Theater is a dream come true.”
Nunsense begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show, so they take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth-grade production of Grease.
“What really makes this show work is that it’s real,” says Misko. “Presenting the Sisters as real people, and not campy caricatures is the essence of the show. John and I understand the humor of the nun because we know so many Religious Sisters so well. We were both taught by nuns.”