Seal Beach residents Andi Jones, Serena Murre, Cecelia Romig-Estrada and Dominic Romig- Estrada join the rest of the Mount St. Helen’s Catholic School gang in “Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical.”
Co-Producers Jones and Tim Cable are at it again, bringing you “Nuncrackers: the Nunsense Christmas Special,” based upon the characters from Dan Goggin’s family favorite “Nunsense,” the second longest-running off-Broadway musical in history.
“Nuncrackers,” the third of six “Nunsense” sequels, will tickle audience-goers of all ages as they follow Reverend Mother’s attempts to lead her flock of beloved misfits through a live television cable-access broadcast from their convent basement.
L.A. and Orange County residents were introduced to these Little Sisters of Hoboken in March 2014, when they descended upon the Ernest Borgnine Theatre in Long Beach, staging a talent show to raise money to bury four sisters who had died in a calamitous cooking accident.
This season, they return with seven of the original cast members and two locals.
Babara Bond (Reverend Mother), Andi Jones (Sister Robert Anne) and Elizabeth Nanney-Dunn (Sister Mary Amnesia) revive their characters as all-too-human role models to the charming children of Mt. St Helen’s Convent School (returning pupils Serena Murre, Cecelia Romig-Estrada, Dominic Romig- Estrada and Kai Yoshida).
Rounding out this cast are Caron Lowe (Sister Mary Hubert) and Funnyman Marss Ramos Jr. (Father Virgil).
Jones has sung for three seasons with the Austin Lyric Opera, toured for two years throughout The Netherlands and Belgium in the original Dutch production of “Stellaluna,” and was flown to Edinburgh as the featured Guest Soloist in an “All Dutch” concert at the Queen’s Hall with the Hebrides Ensemble.
She has recorded original works for Dutch composers Roderik de Man and Michelle van der Aa, and for Disney composers Kerry Kirkpatrick and Byron Simpson.
In education, Andi served for five years on Voice Faculty at Dansacademie Lucia Marthas in Amsterdam, and is currently on staff at the Arts and Learning Conservatory in Santa Ana. Andi also holds a Golden Halo Award from the Southern California Motion Picture Council. “Some companies focus solely on audience appeal, ticket sales, how things look on the outside,” Jones said.
“One of my goals is to provide an intensely creative space for skilled performers who, for whatever reasons, are not in Equity,” Jones said.
“There are so many out there, and nothing is more personally fulfilling to me than working with gifted people,” Jones said.
“Our last production was very successful because each of the performers took an active role in creating the dynamic, adding asides and gags, bouncing ideas off of other cast members and me,” Jones said.
“People who knew the show marveled at how different it was from any other ‘Nunsense’ production they’d seen. And that is because it was alive,” Jones said.
“This can’t happen in a vacuum. Connection is so important. We use every resource, every comedic opportunity, all of our space, the audience’s energy … and the casting is so important. I’ve hit a jackpot both times this year,” Jones said.
The historic Ernest Borgnine Theatre is located at 855 Elm Ave., Long Beach, CA 90813 (In the Scottish Rite Event Center).
Performances of “Nuncrackers” are Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6 at 7 p.m., Sunday, Dec 7 at 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m.
(There will be no performance on Saturday, Dec. 13.)
Tickets, adults $20, students/seniors/military $10, are available online via PayPal at www.andijonesmusic.com or call Andi Jones Music at 562-881 – 6847.
