'Nunsense' is habit forming

A no 'nunsense' good time

September 7, 2007

BY J.J. Harrier

Frontiersman

The sisters of Mt. Saint Helen’s Catholic School are in a bind.

Sister Julia, Child of God accidentally has poisoned the sisters with her stew, killing many of them with botulism.

Mother Superior has gone and spent all of the school’s money on a plasma television and the sisters need to raise funds to bury the dead sisters, still stuffed in the church’s freezer. So the sisters put on a variety show, packed with not so nun-like qualities and temptations galore. They’d better hurry though, the feds are closing in and all is about to come crashing down for our Sisters of Hoboken.

Just another day at the convent.

This is the premise of “Nunsense,” the habit forming, nun-sensical musical from writer Dan Goggin, Season 32’s opening production this weekend at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPA) in Wasilla.

It’s a musical comedy, not everybody’s cup of tea, so singing and dancing are the meat and potatoes of the show. But “Nunsense” entertains regardless, turning the musically less than savvy into toe-tapping connoisseurs in one night.

John Harris, first time VPA director of “Nunsense,” said his theater is very relational, bringing people back so that they can relate to the characters once more.

“When you have a common goal, nothing unites people like a singular goal,” Harris said.

“We’ve worked in close quarters under stressful conditions, so we did bicker like cats in a bag. But the end result is timeless.”

Harris held auditions for “Nunsense” in May, earlier than previous VPA productions, so that the actors and stagehands could learn as much of the elements of a musical-comedy with dance as possible.

“With this type of musical you have three aspects: Dancing, singing, and acting,” Harris said. “When auditioning I looked for people that may had one of these, but be missing the other two. It was very rare to have all three.”

Harris auditioned each of his five nuns looking for one key element: An ensemble. He said that each character needed to have their own special blend of personality, key for their role, but that as an ensemble, they had to shine.

“They went beyond my expectations,” Harris noted. “They’re each stars in their own right.”

The Machetanz Theater at VPA is bustling with activity. Sheri Hamming, Kit Roberts and Joyce Martin took their artistic vision of a Catholic school and transformed the small stage with locker rooms (can you tell which one is real?), wooden floors, church artifacts and ‘50s memorabilia.

Harris, who in Season 31 appeared in “Barefoot in the Park” and “Beauty and the Beast,” said creating a musical for the first time is similar to his role as project manager in life.

“Theater is not a widget we’re making, it’s a creative thing,” he said. “My relationships with the volunteers had to be sensitive in order to produce the final product.

The biggest challenge was meeting deadlines of producing a musical sternly while staying sensitive in the handling of the actors.”

Harris said he didn’t want to be a director that everybody hated, that he hated as an actor, so he stayed true to that vision.

Harris collaborated with Dan Goggin, the original writer of “Nunsense,” who then played a huge hand in re-writing the script.

“Nunsense” was originally performed by VPA, with some script adjustments made, back in 1993. For this round, Harris wanted to stay true to Goggin’s show.

Harris said that even though he feels some pressure to pull of a hit show, there’s no pressure to match the efforts of last season’s “Beauty and The Beast,” VPA’s sold-out winter show that everyone talked about.

“When people get a glimpse and see what we have to offer, they’ll be blown away,” Harris said.

At the final dress rehearsal Tuesday, all the elements of stage were brought together for a symphony of magic.

The lights, music, costumes and set design were all in place.

A cardboard Marylin Monroe smiles into the audience, next to a classic ‘50s jukebox and popcorn machine. Coca-Cola signs and a framed picture of a slightly familiar biker wearing a leather jacket decorates the walls.

“That’s me,” Harris laughed. “Can you tell I like motorcycles?”

There’s final vocal training held with the musicians. The spotlights are cast. The stage is quiet.

It’s show time.

Although the audience on this final dress rehearsal is limited to four people, the actors and stage hands act as if it were a packed house.

Each nun of Mt. Saint Helen’s has a style of their own that contributes to the comedy and beauty of the show.

On actress in particular, Sarah Hendricks, has a vocal range similar to Julie Andrews matched with a hilarious stage presence reminiscent of Carol Burnett. Her goofy, clumsy and often times absent-minded antics equals laughs, and Hendricks is definitely on the mark in this production with her role as Sister Mary Amnesia.

Hendricks played Mrs. Potts in the Beauty and the Beast and has performed in 14 other seasons of VPA performances. In “Nunsense,” Hendricks said her biggest challenge was the dialogue scene between herself and a puppet-nun that sits on her knee exchanging hilarious banter. She steals the show.

“The marionette and I are not on speaking terms,” Hendricks said.

Patty Taylor, who plays Reverend Mother Mary Regina, knows her character better than most, having performed in Nunsense and Nunsense II in the mid-’90s and from personal experiences going through Catholic school for nine years.

In her role as Mother Superior, Taylor had to take on an Irish accent, something she said was no easy task.

“The director’s son tape recorded my lines with the heavy accent and I practiced from that,” Taylor joked.

Tammy McCallion plays Sister Robert Anne, a nun who doesn’t like playing second fiddle in the production the nuns are putting on, so she concocts her own variety show of secular acts. McCallion does impressions of Cher (think Jack of “Will & Grace”), Princess Leah and Katherine Hepburn, to name a few, with comical precision.

She’s Valerie Harper’s Rhoda, accent and all. New Jersey’s finest.

“I always wanted to do a musical,” McCallion said. “I had it on my life list. So I waited until I was 35 and here I am!”

Jennifer Rausa, who plays Sister Mary Leo, the novice who aspires to be a ballerina outside the covenant, said this is her first musical, after playing dramatic roles in previous VPA performances last season such as “Dracula”.

“Leo is so stinkin’ cute,” Rausa said. “I love her character and putting myself in this challenge has been quite the experience.”

Robyn Harris, wife of “Nunsense” director John Harris, was not the first choice for Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices, but was called in later in the summer to prepare for her role as the often hilarious Hubert, who’s name alone prompts jokes a-plenty.

Harris has worked in other stage comedies, but like many of the other Sisters, Nunsense is a first for many things.

“Doing this production has brought our family together,” Harris said. “My lines coach is my daughter, my husband works tirelessly, my son is involved. My kids may need therapy when it’s all over.”

Half-way through the two-act production, a 7-minute movie called “Nunsmoke,” a spoof on silent-westerns with our five nuns and director in lead, is played at an old drive-through movie set, transformed to take you back to the 1950s once again. It’s a time filler, to say the least, but “Nunsmoke” does provide some extra giggles between.

“Nunsmoke” will be sold as a DVD at each performance with all proceeds going back into the VPA.

John Harris promises with “Nunsense” that anyone who has ever dreamed of being a star will immediately be captured by these women as they live it out on-stage with you.

He would be correct as Nunsense is full of heart and brings tears of laughter to the eye.

Dan Goggin has expertly written the roles with divergent ages and personalities.

“Each audience member will find at least one character that they bond with and take home in their hearts, so endearing are these nuns,” John Harris said.

For those expecting to go to “Nunsense” and see song and dance numbers of Broadway proportion, may want to stay home.

This isn’t Broadway.

This is the Valley and the actors are homegrown, giving “Nunsense” its unequivocally genuine appeal.

The audience can expect stage interaction with the actors, though. An audience quiz and crowd chanting for Mother Superior are all part of the show.

“Nunsense” proves that religion can be laughed at, dreams can come true and fun can be had, all in one evening of pure Valley entertainment.

Contact J.J. Harrier at 352-2269 or valleylife@frontiersman.com.