It may be the eighth season of the Porchlight Revisits series in Chicago, but “Nunsense” marks the first time that Cynthia Carter has been involved in the musical comedy.
The Phoenix resident and Harvey native auditioned before artistic director Michael Weber earlier this year for “Pump Boys & Dinettes” at the Porchlight Music Theatre in Chicago.
“I wasn’t cast in that and he reached out to me about the revisit,” Carter said. “I was like, ‘Of course. I’d love to,’ because I did a revisit with Porchlight the last time they did revisits in 2019. I didn’t know about Mother Superior until I got the script.”
Carter plays Sister Mary Regina, also known as Mother Superior, in “Nunsense” from Nov. 17-18 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts on Chicago’s Near North Side.
Featuring book, music and lyrics by Dan Goggin, the play originally opened off-Broadway in 1985 and was adapted by Goggin for the 1993 TV movie “Nunsense” starring the late Rue McClanahan as Mother Superior.
“It’s a hoot,” Carter said.
“‘Nunsense’ is about the remaining sisters from a convent in Hoboken. They need to raise funds because they have some sisters they need to lay to rest, so until they get these funds raised, they’ve got the sisters on ice, so to speak,” she said. “They’re doing this little show to raise some money. Regarding why the sisters have to be laid to rest, you’ll have to come to find out what happened.”
Carter’s path to theater began when she was a student at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, where she was part of Madrigals and Concert Choir under the direction of Karen French and the late Richard Campbell from 1976-1980.
“At one point in the late 1970s at Thornton, I was the only Black girl in choir. At one point there were three,” Carter said. “They were all cool. I’m still friends with a lot of them but back in the day there weren’t a lot of kids in the choir and not a lot of Black kids. It was so much fun. We were good.”
French took the class to see “The Wiz” downtown Chicago, a soul version of “The Wizard of Oz” that had an all-Black cast.
“It was just magical. It was amazing,” Carter said.
But it wasn’t until 2007 she began pursuing a career in theater, after the death of her sister Sheila Carter Carraway.
“I sang with a lot of gospel choirs so I did a lot of gospel music,” Carter said. “My sister always encouraged me to sing. She would tell everybody, ‘If you need a singer, call my sister.’ She was just very supportive and she loved the theater. She just never had a chance to see me doing theater.”
A friend suggested they audition for a theater company.
“I went to Black Ensemble Theater for my first audition and landed a role there. I’m a senior member of that theater house now,” Carter said.
Carter’s first professional show was Memphis Soul (The Story of Stax Record).
“I work all over Chicago. I love musical theater,” she said. “There are just awesome stories, just awesome songs and just so much fun. I really thank God for my high school days.”
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Other upcoming productions for Carter include A Black Ensemble Holiday Spectacular at 8 p.m. Dec. 11 and 18 and 3 p.m. Dec. 12 and 19 at Black Ensemble Theater, 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago. For information, call 773-769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org.
Carter said she is particularly proud of “Woman of Soul,” a production she did with Black Ensemble Theater in December 2018 and January 2019, written and produced by Daryl D. Brooks.
‘It was amazing women. We just portrayed different women in the soulful genre of music,” Carter said.
They brought the show to the National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina in 2019, and it has been picked up by Mercury Theater in Chicago.
“All the girls are back. It’s just going to be marvelous,” Carter said. ‘It’s a great show. I really enjoyed that show.”
Brooks directs “Women of Soul” from Jan. 27-March 6 at Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N. Southport Ave. For information, call 773-360-7365 or go to mercurytheaterchicago.com.
For now, though, Carter is focused on “Nunsense,” which is helmed by director Michelle Lauto, music director Kailey Rockwell and choreographer Jenna Schoppe and includes a Behind the Show Backstory multimedia presentation by Weber to introduce each performance.
The cast also includes Missy Aguilar, Landree Fleming, Rebecca Keeshin and Kyra Leigh.
“I enjoy connecting with the audience but even before that is making a character come alive,” Carter said. “I absolutely love it when you know the audience is receiving that character and you’re touching the hearts of the audience members.”
“Nunsense” will be performed at 7 p.m. Nov. 17-18 and 1:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Tickets are $49 and can be ordered at 773-777-9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.