Articles
25th November 2011
Val Macdonald
If you tried to describe a show to someone as being about five singing, dancing nuns who are holding a fundraiser after most of their order was unintentionally poisoned by their cook, you'd be likely to receive the reply, “Nonsense!” But it's not nonsense – it's Nunsense, Dan Goggin's hit off-Broadway musical. Written in 1985, Nunsense has inspired six sequels and three spin-offs, and is now being brought to Comox Valley audiences this Christmas season by Courtenay Little Theatre.
Goggin was not the first person to put nuns into a musical but he definitely puts a new spin on things, with dancing nuns, streetwise nuns, and ex-circus performers, none of whom can ignore the call of the spotlight. Goggin has said that each of the characters in the play are based on nuns he knew from his Catholic school days. He mentions all of them with affection, noting that Sister Leo (played by Kate Morrison) was very easily led into mischief, Sister Robert Anne (Kim Tsang) had a heart of gold, and the Reverend Mother (Jeannine Taylor) would do anything for a laugh. Joining these three lively characters in the show are Sister Hubert (played by Crystal-lee Young), who can belt a gospel song with a twist, and Sister Mary Amnesia (aka Meghan Hanley), a sweet innocent who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head.
Nunsense started off its unlikely life in an equally unlikely manner – as a series of greeting cards, each featuring a cheeky nun with a tart greeting. Inspired by their popularity, Goggin wrote The Nunsense Story, a cabaret show, which he quickly adapted into a full-length musical. When it finally closed after ten years, the show had become the second-longest running off-Broadway show in history.
Directed by Tony Arnold, with musical direction from Sharon Pridham and choreography by Susan Bradshaw, Nunsense is not the typical show that local audiences may have come to expect from CLT. “The main difference between Nunsense and previous Christmas shows is that it is not aimed at an audience that includes young children,” explains Arnold. “However, it does include a number of the usual ingredients: song, dance, lively humour, and audience participation.”
The music is also different from your typical showtunes. Nunsense's catchy, but slightly off-beat and vaudevillian, tunes will not only have audiences humming on their way out of the theatre, but also giggling during the show. “Nunsense offers side splitting comedy and tender heartfelt ballads all wrapped up in beautiful harmony,” says Sharon Pridham. “It gives the audience a look at the trials and smiles that nuns deal with on a daily basis.”
Nunsense's fresh, fun look at convent life will definitely put a smile on your face this Christmas, with its tongue-in-cheek jokes and upbeat music. It will be playing at the Sid Williams Theatre from the 26th to the 31st of December, with a 2:00PM matinee on the 26th, and evening shows at 7:30PM on the 27th to the 31st, with a special after party on New Year's Eve. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for students, and $22 for the New Year's Eve show. Tickets are available at the Sid Williams box office, online at www.sidwilliamstheatre.com, or by calling (250) 338-2430. Do not miss this hilarious show that will leave your feet tapping!
Goggin was not the first person to put nuns into a musical but he definitely puts a new spin on things, with dancing nuns, streetwise nuns, and ex-circus performers, none of whom can ignore the call of the spotlight. Goggin has said that each of the characters in the play are based on nuns he knew from his Catholic school days. He mentions all of them with affection, noting that Sister Leo (played by Kate Morrison) was very easily led into mischief, Sister Robert Anne (Kim Tsang) had a heart of gold, and the Reverend Mother (Jeannine Taylor) would do anything for a laugh. Joining these three lively characters in the show are Sister Hubert (played by Crystal-lee Young), who can belt a gospel song with a twist, and Sister Mary Amnesia (aka Meghan Hanley), a sweet innocent who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head.
Nunsense started off its unlikely life in an equally unlikely manner – as a series of greeting cards, each featuring a cheeky nun with a tart greeting. Inspired by their popularity, Goggin wrote The Nunsense Story, a cabaret show, which he quickly adapted into a full-length musical. When it finally closed after ten years, the show had become the second-longest running off-Broadway show in history.
Directed by Tony Arnold, with musical direction from Sharon Pridham and choreography by Susan Bradshaw, Nunsense is not the typical show that local audiences may have come to expect from CLT. “The main difference between Nunsense and previous Christmas shows is that it is not aimed at an audience that includes young children,” explains Arnold. “However, it does include a number of the usual ingredients: song, dance, lively humour, and audience participation.”
The music is also different from your typical showtunes. Nunsense's catchy, but slightly off-beat and vaudevillian, tunes will not only have audiences humming on their way out of the theatre, but also giggling during the show. “Nunsense offers side splitting comedy and tender heartfelt ballads all wrapped up in beautiful harmony,” says Sharon Pridham. “It gives the audience a look at the trials and smiles that nuns deal with on a daily basis.”
Nunsense's fresh, fun look at convent life will definitely put a smile on your face this Christmas, with its tongue-in-cheek jokes and upbeat music. It will be playing at the Sid Williams Theatre from the 26th to the 31st of December, with a 2:00PM matinee on the 26th, and evening shows at 7:30PM on the 27th to the 31st, with a special after party on New Year's Eve. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for students, and $22 for the New Year's Eve show. Tickets are available at the Sid Williams box office, online at www.sidwilliamstheatre.com, or by calling (250) 338-2430. Do not miss this hilarious show that will leave your feet tapping!
Jeannine Taylor leads the cast of NUNSENSE as Mother Superior (Sister Mary Regina) in CLT's holiday show from Boxing Day to New Year's Eve at the Sid Williams Theatre. Get your tickets now!