(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company makes their debut at the new Fellowship Cultural Arts Center with Dan Goggin’s hilarious comedy Nunsense October 25-27. With book, music and lyrics by Dan Goggin, Nunsense begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters forcing the surviving sisters to raise funds for the burials.
The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show and take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth grade production of “Grease”. Here we meet Reverend Mother Regina, a former circus performer; Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices; a streetwise nun from Brooklyn named Sister Robert Anne; Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is a wannabe ballerina; and the delightfully wacky Sister Mary Amnesia, the nun who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head. Featuring star turns, tap and ballet dancing, an audience quiz and comic surprises at every turn, Nunsense has become an international phenomenon with more than 5000 productions worldwide and translated into 21 languages.
The cast features Cynthia Livingstone (Byram, NJ) as Sister Mary Regina, Ali Rose Harton (Cartersville, GA) as Sister Mary Hubert, Rach Phelan (Edison, NJ) as Sister Mary Amnesia, Brianna Morris (Parsippany, NJ) as Sister Mary Leo, Megan Schmiedhauser (Stanhope, NJ) as Sister Robert Anne and Angelina Taystra (Washington, NJ).
Individual performances run Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:30pm. Tickets range from $31.50 to $45.00 with discounts available for students and seniors. Tickets are available online or by phone at 908-580-3892.
No stranger to the CSC stage, Livingstone has been seen in Peter Pan (Mrs. Darling), A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Mops), Newsies (Hannah), Mary Poppins (Miss Lark) and Annie (Mrs. Pugh). Livingstone was one of the founding members of the Off-West Broadway Theater Co. in New York City and has performed extensively in dinner theater, summer stock and regional productions. New to the CSC stage is Ali Rose Harton. Harton holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Long Island University and credits include It Came From Beyond (Off-Broadway). Other New York credits include; Full Circle… 10 Years Later, The Victory Garden Plays, The Nemesis Effect, The Zimmer Girls, Bum Phillips All-American Opera. Regionally, Harton has performed in productions of Mama Mia!, South Pacific, Company and Aida. Rach Phelan also makes her Centenary Stage Company debut. A graduate of AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Phelan’s recent credits include Spring Awakening, Transgender Starborn: Disco Queen of the Galaxy, Hairspray, Spamalot and Dog Sees God. Rach teaches acting, improve, and musical theatre at Rockstar! Music Studios. Centenary University alumni Brianna Morris, Megan Schmiedhauser and Angelina Taystra return to the Sitnik Theatre. Morris’ recent credits include Avenue Q, An Enemy of the People, Young Frankenstein, Schoolhouse Rock: Live!, Dracula and Hitler’s Tasters. Schmiedhauser’s recent credits include; Dogfight, Spring Awakening, Hair, BatBoy, Lucky Stiff, 1984 and Schoolhouse Rock: Live! Taystra’s recent credits include; Young Frankenstein, Every(wo)man, Mary Poppins and Into the Woods.
The production is directed by Jeremy Hilgert. Hilgert has been working in professional theater for the last 20 years. His work encompasses nearly 90 different productions as a performer, director, and coach. Jeremy has directed Urintown: The Musical and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee both with Lea Antolini for Centenary Stage Company and Centenary University’s NEXTstage Repertory. Performance credits include; A Christmas Carol (Mr. Fezziwig), The Wizard of Oz (Zeke/Lion) for Centenary Stage Company. Other credits include; Peter and the Starcatcher (Slank/Fighting Prawn), The Who’s Tommy (Uncle Ernie), Seussical (Horton the Elephant), A Midnight Cry (Mr. Bullard), A Year with Frog and Toad (Toad), The Dinosaur Musical (Swifty Levine/King Markus). Additional credits include Carousel, The Music Man and Plain and Fancy at The Round Barn Theater (Nappanee, Indiana), Nunsens-A-men at Cornwell’s Dinner Theater (Marshall, Michigan), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Palace Theater (Manchester, New Hampshire), 42nd Street, Pirates of Penzance and Fiddler on the Roof at Shawnee Playhouse (Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania). Nunsense is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
The Fellowship Cultural Arts Center is located at 8000 Fellowship Road in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The 239 seat multipurpose theater benefits from the design work of top theater, lighting and sound professionals who were brought in to create the state-of-the-art space. Open to the public, programming features theater, opera, symphony, jazz and ballet with performances by the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New Jersey Ballet, Light Opera of New Jersey, Centenary Stage Company, and with Trilogy Repertory Company-in-Residence.
