{"id":4380,"date":"2011-03-07T20:58:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T04:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=4380"},"modified":"2011-03-07T20:58:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T04:58:00","slug":"who-can-go-wrong-with-singing-and-dancing-nuns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=4380","title":{"rendered":"Who Can Go Wrong With Singing and Dancing Nuns?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Singing and dancing nuns. Who can resist them? Dan Goggin<\/a> took a lesson from the singing and dancing Chasids of Fiddler on the Roof back in 1986 and created “Nunsense<\/a><\/i>“, That show featured the Little Sisters of Hoboken, who discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show. The sisters consist of Reverend Mother Regina, a former circus performer; Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices;a streetwise nun from Brooklyn named Sister Robert Anne; Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is a wannabe ballerina; and the delightfully wacky Sister Mary Amnesia, the nun wholost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head, and whose alter-ego is a puppet, Sister Mary Annette. This show was a success around the country due to its humor, its good music, and the fact that it could be put on relatively easily with a small cast. Goggin subsequently went back to the Convent for more shows: “Nunsense II: The Second Coming<\/a><\/i>“, “Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree<\/a><\/i>“, \u201cNuncrackers<\/a><\/i>\u201d, and \u201cMeshuggah-Nuns<\/a><\/i>. The sixth show in the series, \u201cNunsensations<\/a><\/i>\u201d is the show we saw last night at the Lyric Theatre<\/a> in Hollywood. [And you should be scared, because \u201cNunsensations<\/i>\u201d isn\u2019t the last one. There is also \u201cNunsense A-Men<\/a><\/i> (an all male version of the first show), \u201cNunset Boulevard<\/a><\/i>\u201d, and \u201cSister Robert Anne\u2019s Cabaret Class<\/a><\/i>\u201d]. I\u2019ll note this was the Los Angeles premier of \u201cNunsensations<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

The basic plot of \u201cNunsenstations<\/i>\u201d doesn\u2019t matter<\/del> (oops) is just an excuse for the sisters to do a variety show<\/del> (oops) is that the Sisters have been told by a Hoboken parishioner that he will donate $10,000 to their school if the Sisters go to Las Vegas and perform in a friend\u2019s showroom. Reverend Mother has serious doubts about appearing in \u201cSin City.\u201d However, after convincing her that \u201cwhat happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,\u201d the Sisters plan their program…. and this is their show, from the Pump Room Lounge of the Mystique Motor Lodge in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hmmm. Perhaps my first two answers were correct after all. <\/p>\n

\u201cNunsensations<\/i>\u201d has the virtue that it is moderately entertaining, is quite humerous, and can tolerate quite a range of actresses (after all, the nuns are novices (rimshot)). Of course, it is better if the nuns are good singers and dancers, and astounding if they are great singers and dancers. The sets don\u2019t have to be fancy, and a single piano accompaniment is fine. It has the problem in that the story and the music are essentially recycled from the previous Nunsense musicals—certain plot elements always show up. But you didn\u2019t come for the plot. You came for the singing and dancing nuns, right?<\/p>\n

Alas, the Lyric production didn\u2019t fall into the great category, but it was pretty good. The singing quality could have been a bit stronger, but for the most part it was quite good. I was also impressed by comic abilities and facial expressions of a majority of the cast. My favorites were Tracy McBurnett<\/a> as Sister Mary Leo, and Becky Birdsong as Sister Robert Anne. McBurnett just had fun with the role: her face was extremely expressive and her movement was great. Birdsong also had a wonderfully expressive face. Also strong was Doreen Calderon<\/a>\u00e6<\/sup> as Sister Mary Amnesia—again, a very expressive face, although she could have been a bit stronger with Sister Mary Annette. Rounding out the cast were Bonnie Snyder as Reverend Mother and Dorrie Braun as Sister Mary Hubert. Music was provided by Lauren Buck Fraley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This crew was directed by Amy Rowell, who did a reasonable job of creating the characters. Sister Robert Anne could have come across a bit more \u201cBrooklyn Hood\u201d, and Sister Mary Hubert a bit more stern. Choreography was by Josh Brodis. The set was designed by Allan Jensen, who did a good job of turning the black box of the Lyric into a low-budget facsimile of a Las Vegas Motor Hotel stage. Costumes and props were by Leslie Guardado. Lighting Design was by Irina Khodorkovsky. Sound was by Lucas Lilieholm. Allen Jensen was the production manager, and Stephaine Boltjes was the stage manager. The production was produced by Thomas Colby and Dorrie Braun.<\/p>\n

\u201cNunsensations<\/i>\u201d continues at the Lyric Theatre until March 13. Tickets are available via BrownPaperTickets<\/a> and Goldstar<\/a>. Upcoming productions at the Lyric Theatre are the Los Angeles premier of \u201cLust n\u2019 Rust: The Trailer Park Musical<\/a><\/i>\u201d (March 25-April 30, 2011) and the little-produced Jerry Herman musical, \u201cDear World<\/a><\/i>\u201d (May 13-June 13, 2011). I may get tickets to \u201cDear World<\/i>\u201d. <\/p>\n

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance:<\/b> Saturday March 12 sees us back at Van Nuys High School to see \u201cEvita<\/i>\u201d, at Van Nuys High School<\/a>. Sunday, March 13 is \u201cThe Cradle Will Rock<\/i>\u201d at the Blank Theatre<\/a>. March 19 brings \u201cHaving It All<\/a><\/i>\u201d at the NoHo Arts Center. Lastly, March 26 brings \u201cThe Diary of Anne Frank<\/i>\u201d at Repertory East<\/a>. April will bring the Renaissance Faire<\/a> on the weekend of April 9. April 16 brings \u201cThe Producers<\/i>\u201d at Cabrillo Music Theatre<\/a>. April 23rd, which is during Pesach, brings the last show of the current Colony season, \u201cThe All Night Strut<\/i>\u201d at the Colony Theatre<\/a>. The last weekend of April is being held open (i.e., pending ticketing) for Brian Stokes Mitchell<\/a> at the new Valley Performing Arts Center<\/a>. May is just starting to shape up, with the first weekend being held for \u201cGod of Carnage<\/i>\u201d<\/a> at the Ahmanson Theatre<\/a> (pending Hottix) and \u201cCabaret<\/i>\u201d at REP East<\/a> on May 28.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Singing and dancing nuns. Who can resist them? Dan Goggin took a lesson from the singing and dancing Chasids of Fiddler on the Roof back in 1986 and created “Nunsense“, That show featured the Little Sisters of Hoboken, who discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,28,1],"tags":[448,348,333],"class_list":["post-4380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-theatre","category-lj-xfer","tag-other-theatres","tag-reviews-2011","tag-theatre-2011"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4380\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}