Show: Nunsense
Society: Bembridge Little Theatre Club
Venue: Bembridge Village Hall
Credits: Book, music, and lyrics by Dan Goggin
Type: Sardines
Author: Cheryl May
Performance Date: 13/11/2021
Nunsense
Cheryl May | 16 Nov 2021 18:53pm
Dan Goggin’s musical comedy, Nunsense, has spawned six sequels and three spin offs since it first appeared on Broadway in 1985. In all my years as a theatre reviewer, I had never seen the musical Nunsense before, and looked forward to Bembridge Little Theatre Club’s production.
After the warm welcome from the front of house team, who were dressed as nuns and monks, the show itself was a hilarious, irreverent, laugh out loud, madcap helter-skelter ride of a musical. Nunsense was right up my cloister – I loved it.
At the very start of the show, the nuns explained that they belong to the order of Little Sisters of Hoboken and needed to raise funds to bury four nuns whose corpses were “on ice” in the convent freezer. The other fifty-two dead nuns having been buried, Mother Superior bought a new DVD player and ran out of money to bury the other four, hence the fund-raising show. The dead nuns were the unfortunate victims of botulism, thanks to the Vichyssoise soup cooked by Sister Julia Child (of God). The surviving nuns staged their show at Mount Saint Helen’s Catholic School on the set of the school’s eighth-grade production of the musical Grease, which the Reverend Mother referred to as ‘Vaseline’.
Amongst the many sisters, all named Mary, was an amnesiac nun who had lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head, a former circus performer and a wannabe ballerina. The show began with the sisters singing and dancing to “Nunsense is Habit Forming”, followed by the Little Sisters solo acts which consisted of a quiz, a ventriloquist act and ballet dancing. There was more hilarity as nothing went quite as planned and dramas developed between each of the sisters’ performances.
All sixteen members of cast gave stellar performances. A standout performance for me, was from Libby Pike, as the initially upright Reverend Mother. There followed a hilariously funny routine when the Reverend Mother gets as high as a kite after sniffing an illegal substance and gets stuck after falling off a stool. A master class in comic timing. There was a wonderful send up of Shelly Winters swimming in the ‘Poiseidon Adventure’, as the Reverend Mother flailed about on the stage. The duet ‘Just A Coupl’ A Sisters’ with Sister Mary Wilholm, Maureen Sullivan, and the Reverend Mother was another winner.
Hanna Emily Dixon was hilarious as Sister Mary Amnesia, the nun who had suffered memory loss. Her comedy skills second to none (no pun intended), and oh – what a voice! Miss Dixon brought the house down as she led the ensemble in the rousing number ‘Holier Than Thou’, her soulful, powerful, gospel voice was joyful to the last note.
John Abraham delighted as Sister Mary Leo, a novice with ambitions of becoming the first ballerina nun. I loved her dying swan. As Sister Robert Anne, Bryony Bishop gave a hilarious rendition of the song, ‘So You Want To Be A Nun’, complete with a large hand puppet, aptly named Mary Annette. Dianne Aspinall’s rendition of ‘Growing Up Catholic’ was very moving and in total contrast to her over exuberant wild character, Sister Mary Dinah, a streetwise nun.
With such a large cast any set furniture had to be easy to move, especially with such a fast-paced show. The set design and construction team utilised the space. The set was open plan and minimalistic, save for the good use of a nineteen fifties style diner counter and stools, set on a truck. The blocks serving as steps in a recess at the back of the stage were utilised as a bed. The paintings of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and a 1950’s jukebox added the finishing touches.
I had yet to see a musical production by Bembridge Little Theatre club. Thanks to Director Andrew Wilson-Jenner, who assembled this talented cast, Nunsense was a laugh out loud show, with the performances well-received by the audience who whooped and clapped along. The show was energetic with a combination of vaudeville and slapstick, all delivered with superb comic timing.
Choreographer Ruth Anderson ensured the movements were fun to watch, with some lovely ensemble pieces. Music Director Stephen Burton and the band made the tunes seem effortless.
Congratulations to all involved with this wonderful production. A well-deserved 5 stars from Sardines Magazine for Amateur Theatre.
- : admin
- : 13/11/2021