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Klutzy cloister a hilarious hodgepodge
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN Those zany Little Sisters of Hoboken are back at Stage West Community Playhouse, this time in Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical, the fourth in writer-composer Dan Goggin's series of musical comedy Nunsense shows. Stage West has had enormous success with both Nunsense and Nunsense II, and it's likely this one will be as popular, if not more so. It has the same warm, homey feel as the first two, just enough hokiness to make it charming and the holiday theme audiences want at this time of year. Better yet, three of the original stellar, HAMI-Award-winning cast members are back -- Jan Lavin as the imperious, but good-natured Reverend Mother, Leanne Germann as the spunky Sister Mary Robert Anne, and Sharon Farnsworth as Sister Mary Paul (formerly known as Sister Amnesia). The three are by now so comfortable with their characters that they covered nicely the blips made by fellow cast members during the final dress rehearsal. This installment has the sisters taping a holiday television special in the basement of their Mount St. Helen's convent for a local access cable channel. The music is a mix of country, pop and gospel, as well as some tender ballads that add a serious note to the otherwise comical goings-on. Especially effective is Sister Robert Anne's Jesus Was Born in Brooklyn, the sweet story of how her runaway dad returned to his family one Christmas Eve. Germann has the show's best voice, and director Wayne Raymond is wise to showcase her in this and other numbers. There isn't much of a plot with Nuncrackers -- when one tenuous storyline plays out, Goggin simply jumps to something else and starts all over again, giving the show a rather thrown-together feeling. At one point when everything seems to come to a halt, for example, Reverend Mother comes downstage to do a pitch for people to become nuns. The sudden change doesn't lessen the fun, though, since her call leads to one of the show's funniest song and dance numbers, In the Convent -- a spoof of The Village People's In the Navy. Actually, it's this air of sheer goofiness and spontaneity that make the Nunsense shows such reliable favorites. New elements in this show are Father Virgil Manly Trott, played with engaging appeal by Stage West newcomer Frank Julian, and a half dozen parochial school kids, who, led by Sister Mary Paul, provide the show's funniest sight gags. Playing Sister Mary Hubert is newcomer Shelly Robinson, a nonsinging actor whose big number, It's Better to Give, is handed off to singer-dancer Wahnita Dow, who plays Sister Mary Katherine. Show highlights are Father Virgil's stint as a stand-in for Sister Julia (Child of God) on the cooking segment of the TV show, downing as much rum as he puts into the fruit cake -- with predictable results -- and the Little Sisters' version of The Nutcracker. In their rendition, Father Virgil and Reverend Mother vie for the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, their thudding leaps and turns made more ludicrous by Jan Decker's absurd costumes. The play's hilarious double entendres are delivered with deadpan innocence, making Nuncrackers a delightful two hours for every member of the family. If you goNuncrackers, a musical in two acts, at Stage West Community Playhouse, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill, at 8 p.m. today, Friday and Dec. 15 and at 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 16. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for students. Box office is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and an hour before each show. Call (352) 683-5113.
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