If you’re up for dinner and a show, the Palace Theatre in downtown Marion has your tickets ready.
The Palace presents “Nunsense A-Men!” Thursday, March 30 through Sunday, April 2 in the May Pavilion. Dinner will be served ahead of the Friday and Saturday performances. The Thursday and Sunday performances will feature the show only, according to theater officials.
“I just love dinner theater,” Director Clare Cook said. “People can come and have a good meal, have a good time, relax. And in this show there’s a lot of interaction with the audience, which I think really helps bring the audience into the show and keeps them involved.”
“Nunsense” is the creation of writer, composer, and lyricist Dan Goggin. The original off-Broadway show opened Dec. 12, 1985, and was a hit, running for 3,672 performances to become the second-longest-running off-Broadway show ever. That success spawned six sequels, including “Nunsense A-Men!,” which features an all-male cast portraying the Little Sisters of Hoboken.
Cook brought the original “Nunsense” to the Palace stage about eight years ago, but said she enjoyed the story so much that she wanted to produce one of the many sequels.
“The show in itself is so well written and it’s so funny,” Cook said. “The cast loves it and you can tell they love it. They have beautiful voices, especially when they harmonize. It almost sounds like barbershop quartet. There’s also tap dancing. They’re doing well. They’re really right where I want them to be. They’ll be ready.”
Cook said Kristi Wink, her daughter and a longtime fixture at the Palace and the cultural arts scene in Marion County, is the choreographer for the show.
The cast features mostly veterans of the Palace Theatre stage with a couple of newcomers, Cook said. Following is the cast of characters: Rev. Mother played by Bruce Cudd, Sister Robert Anne played by Chip Gregory, Sister Hubert played by Dustin Rawlins, Sister Leo played by Eric Mosley, Sister Amnesia played by Benjamin Blankenship, and the stage manager played by Ralph Hill.
Cook said Blankenship is a talented young man from Upper Sandusky who has appeared in several productions at the Star Theater, but she had never met him until he auditioned for this show.
“He had one of the best auditions I’ve seen in years,” Cook said. “He is so talented. His instincts are so spot-on. He plays the sister who has amnesia because a crucifix fell on her head. He does a number with a puppet, Sister Mary Annette. He’s delightful.”
Cook said working with a small cast has been fun and it’s something she’s been looking forward to after directing so many huge shows like “Christmas at the Palace” and some of the other productions she’s supervised over the years.
“With ‘Christmas at the Palace’ and some other shows, I don’t get one-on-one with people,” Cook explained. “This show − especially after COVID − is like coming out of the dark. There’s no pressure on anybody. I just want to have fun and I want them to have fun. And they are. They crack me up. It’s just been a joy doing this show.”
In addition to Cook, the production team includes lights and sound technician Mark Meginness, stage managers Barb Yaksic and Rhonda Arnold, set director Joy Watkins, and costume director Susan Wenig.
Tickets are $50 for the Friday and Saturday dinner theater presentations. The Friday and Saturday shows begin at 6:30 p.m. with dinner. All Occasions Catering from Waldo is providing the meal, which includes a house salad, choice of sautéed chicken breast with wild mushroom creamed veloute or penne and shrimp with tomato basil cream, loaded potato casserole, steamed broccoli, buckeye bars, and cherry cheesecake tarts.
Admission is $25 for the Thursday and Sunday performances. Showtime for the Thursday performance is 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday matinee begins at 2 p.m.
To reserve tickets, go to the Palace Theatre website marionpalace.org or call the box office at 740-383-2101. The box office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Palace Theatre is located at 276 W. Center St. in downtown Marion.
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter