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Theater Review - "Nunsense"
Sunday, August 4, 2013 at 11:00PM THEATER REVIEW
“Nunsense”
Produced by: The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport
Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur
The cast of “Nunsense” – Left to right, Kristina Teschner, Inga Ballard, Gwendolyn F. Jones, Marie Danvers and Brittany Ross – photo by Alan PearlmanPerhaps this reviewer can be forgiven for noting that most musicals seem built to run partially out of steam in the show’s second stanza. It’s almost as if directors are determined to get their best shots in early, lest audiences otherwise tire of the proceedings and opt to make a quick getaway at intermission.
That’s never going to happen with this production of “Nunsense” however. If anything, in Act II the frolicking, mildly profane quintet of this irreverent romp outshines even their considerable command of the play’s fast-paced opening gambit.
Which is saying something, because the applause at the end of Act I in Northport’s snazzy John W. Engeman Theater last Saturday was as sustained and vigorous as that usually reserved for final curtain accolades.
The original off-Broadway production of “Nunsense,” which many readers will recall wound up on television, opened in December 1985, and ran for an impressive 3,672 performances, mostly at the intimate 200-seat Douglas Fairbanks Theater. The ten-year run made it the second most popular off-Broadway show in history (surpassed only by the “Fantasticks” – 42 years!).
There’s no sense trying to allot kudos among the five-woman company that’ll be wowing audiences at Engeman through September 8th, because they’re all convincing - all great! The most telling way to recognize the devout divas is probably to gather all those gold stars (that the Good Sisters used to hand out in third grade) and give half of them to director/choreographer Antoinette DiPietropolo, and the other half to casting director, Stephen DeAngelis. They deserve congratulations galore for selecting a fitting cast to interpret Dan Goggin’s rapid-fire, riotously funny book, music, and lyrics.
Goggin would doubtless be the first to acknowledge that the appropriately corny story behind this liturgical farce is a groaner of the first order, as it’s intended to be: The Little Sisters of Hoboken have lost 52 of their nuns when the Order’s cook (Sister Julia Child of God, who else?) has accidentally poisoned them with tainted vichyssoise. So, what better way to raise burial money than to move into the Engeman Theater in Northport, Long Island (where the stage is already decorated for “South Pacific”) and put on a—are you ready for this—variety show!
Ah, but what a variety show it turns out to be! Brittany Ross (Sister Mary Amnesia, who’s been conked by a Crucifix) belts out “I Could’ve Gone to Nashville”; Marie Danvers (as street-smart Brooklynite Sister Robert Anne) nails every note in the touching “I Just Want to Be a Star”; and the omnipresent Inga Ballard turns her Sister Mary Hubert into a modern-day Sophie Tucker belting out “Holier Than Thou.”
And those show-stoppers are all in the rollicking second act!
In Act I we’ve already been treated to statuesque Inga Ballard hoofing it with diminutive Kristina Teschner (who plays wannabe ballerina Sr. Mary Leo). Together they sing and dance “The Biggest Ain’t the Best” in vaudevillian Mutt & Jeff style, after which Gwendolyn F. Jones (Mother Mary Regina) sets the tone once and for all with her dogmatic directive to “Turn Up the Spotlight.”
It goes without saying that of all the folks associated with this production of “Nunsense,” the two least challenged are Lauren Renee Paragallo (costume designer)—and hair & make-up designer Mark Adam Rampmeyer. However, even in the obviously predictable costume and make-up departments, director DiPietropolo has arranged for a few surprises, though we are never disabused of the sure conviction (assumed by many of us since early childhood) that “nuns, of course, have no ears.”
Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of seven novels. His theater reviews appear in several major L. I. newspapers. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “The Dealer” due this fall, Israeli extortionists threaten to destroy Hoover Dam demolishing the Las Vegas Strip - if casino operators don’t pay millions.
Reader Comments (4)
JAY LADD, has always been a man of letters,nsb nicko
As a clever license plate I saw the other day
encapsulates this review "XO LENTS"... it shows
that Long Island clearly has EXCELLENCE in
theatre productions, direction and performance talent!
Definitely draws one time and again to the dynamically located
Engeman Theatre in the quaint village of Northport!
Being a resident of Northport Centerport and now East Northport,
it's convenient and always memorable !
Never disappointed - so thx Jeb for piquing my interest
yet again ;-)
"Jay Ladd" is an almost forgotten pen name not used since the late Sixties. I was able to contact the writer, an ex-airlines official now living in Texas. Apparently, he keeps up to date on "Smithtown Matters" from afar. - Jeb Ladouceur
Reading Jeb's review is a pleasure all by itself. Such enthusiasm certainly is a motivation to see "Nunsense."