Nunsense opens The Straw Hat Players 47th season
Summer schedule includes four musicals and one play
The 47th season of The Straw Hat Players opens with the blockbuster hit musical, Nunsense, June 8-11 on the Gaede Stage in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts.
Nunsense tells the story of the Little Sisters of Hoboken, who discover their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters. They must raise money fast for the burials. Reverend Mother Regina, a former circus performer, and her crazy flock of nuns, decide to put on a variety show in the school gym.
Second in the line-up is All Shook Up, a musical based on Elvis Presley tunes. When a hip-swiveling, guitar-playing roustabout gets out of prison, he roars into a dusty Midwestern town where excitement is outlawed under the Mayor’s strict rules: no tight pants, no public necking, and no loud music – especially of the Elvis variety. The show runs June 15-18 in Hansen Theatre.
Altar Boyz follows five small-town boys trying to save the world one screaming fan at a time. Will their pious pop act, with songs like “Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait,” and “Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone,” work in New York City? And will the boys take a bite out of the forbidden apple? Altar Boyz runs from June 22-25 and again from June 29 through July 2 on the Gaede Stage.
The Shakespearean comedy The Tempest is fourth in the summer line-up. A torrential storm, castaways on a remote island, plots and counter plots, romance, love, magic and a monster are the stuff of The Tempest. By turns funny, exciting, mysterious and sweet, The Tempest is a Shakespeare play for the whole family. It runs July 13-16 on the Gaede Stage.
Closing the season is one of the biggest musical hits ever to hit Broadway and the big screen – The Music Man. A travelling con-man salesman, Professor Harold Hill, stops in River City, Iowa, to convince the town that they desperately need a boy’s marching band. Everyone falls for his game except the one person he needs to win over, the local music teacher and librarian, Miss Marian Paroo. The Music Man runs July 22-23 and 27-30 in Hansen Theatre.
All shows start at 7:30 p.m. and take place in the Roland Dille Center for the Performing Arts. Season tickets and group sales are available now. Tickets may be purchased online at www.mnstate.edu/strawhat. Or call the MSUM Box Office at (218) 477-2271 Monday through Friday between noon and 4 p.m. Tickets are also available at the door 90 minutes prior to curtain. For more information, go to www.mnstate.edu/strawhat.