Students usually can only daydream of their teachers singing and dancing around in silly costumes, but they will get to experience it firsthand on Wednesday evening when And Then There Were Nuns, the choir-staff musical, opens.

Various staff members signed up to form the cast and ensemble along with the choir class. “This year’s musical is like Sister Act, but stars Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz,” choir director Bill Liberatore said. “The main character is a girl who is dying to be a Broadway star, but is locked up in a convent because she witnessed a murder and there’s a mob out to get her. The plot exists solely as an excuse to have fun and to include great songs and great dances.”

Since the 1960s, there has been an ongoing tradition for staff members to star in student drama productions at Gunn. The actual choir-staff musical is relatively new, however. Twelve years ago, Liberatore put together the first choir-staff musical, Heavenly Bandstand, to create more interest in the choir. “I just picked up an old Gunn tradition and expanded on it hugely,” he said.

Staff members who have participated in musicals in past years, like math teacher David Deggeller, return every year because of their passion for performing. “I think teachers, at heart, are really performers who love to be on stage,” Deggeller said. “For me, I’ve been doing music my whole life, so singing is a thrill. It’s also great to interact with my math students outside of class and to see them in a different light.”

Nancy Hersage, the mother of a Gunn graduate, has traditionally written the scripts for past choir-staff musicals, such as Alice Down the Healthcare Hole and Totally Gone With the Wind. This year’s musical, And Then There Were Nuns, was also written by Hersage and has been performed twice before, once as a choir-staff musical and another time by students in the Little Theater.

According to senior Ella Cooley, who plays Mother Superior, this year’s musical does not offer a clear message like last year’s. “Last year, the musical was about health care, and there was a definite political message,” she said. “But this year, it’s just completely silly. We want everyone to come and have a good time watching all the girls and guys going crazy in habits on stage.”

Liberatore also encourages students to come out and support their teachers and the choir on stage. “I hope people come to see us, because it’s hilarious and a lot of fun,” he said. “All profits from the musical go to scholarship money for our choir tour, so it’s going to a good cause.”

The musical will play on Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. in Spangenberg Theater. Tickets cost $10 for high school students or younger and $15 for adults, and are available in the Student Activities Center and online at http://www.gunnchoir.org.