Reviewed by Sarah Hansel /
Sacramento
Stage & Theatre
Michele
Ragusa (right as Sister Mary Amnesia) with Sister Mary Annette, in the
2007 Music Circus production of “Nunsense” at the Wells Fargo Pavilion,
July 24 – 29. Photo by Charr
Crail.
From the moment I opened the program, I knew that NUNSENSE was going to
be unlike any other musical I had ever seen.
Prior to opening night, I was aware that the
play was about a group of nuns—an unlikely cast—but I still expected a
show similar to those I’ve always seen at the Music Circus.
However, when I opened the program to the
Company page, instead of the usual list of “Sister Mary Hubert played
by Allison Blackwell…” I found a list that explained “Prior to Entering
the Convent: Sister Mary Hubert was Allison Blackwell …” and so on and
so forth.
This simple and unusual variance from the program’s
normal format ultimately illustrated the entire attitude of the show:
one that was committed to being as unlike a traditional musical as
possible.
The entire plot of NUNSENSE occurs in one night, at
a benefit concert the Little Sisters of Hoboken are putting on in order
to raise enough money to bury four dead nuns (originally, they would
have been able to, but the Reverend Mother (Alyson Reed) bought a TiVo
for the convent instead).
The audience was treated as the audience of
the benefit, and was a critical part of the production. The cast’s
interaction with the audience began with Sister Robert Anne (Erin
Maguire) leading us in a cheer and continued throughout the entire
show. This interaction gave NUNSENSE an almost improvisational feel, as
the characters retained their comedic talents even when conversing with
members of the audience.
Although this kind of humor was largely
entertaining for me, Music Circus attendees who are used to sitting
back and idly watching a play unfold before them might grow tired of
the constant cast-audience exchange.
The parts of NUNSENSE that were planned were
generally very entertaining, if not always able to be appreciated by
everyone. As might be expected from a comedy about nuns, a great deal
of the jokes were related to Catholicism. Another portion were clearly
geared towards an older audience. However, even though I personally was
not able to understand every joke, I will at least say that the humor
was directed at a wide spectrum of people. There were jokes for
everyone—from drug references to comments about Nancy Pelosi, cracks
about Paris Hilton to George W. Bush impressions, mentions of Finding
Nemo to simple slapstick comedy.
Everyone was laughing at some point, even if
they weren’t laughing throughout the entire show.
I confess that sitting through a string of
jokes I didn’t understand was more than a little tiresome, but it
didn’t ruin the show for me. The pieces of comedy I did manage to grasp
were smart and amusing, and the music itself was also enjoyable. Even
though the cast consisted of only five characters, they harmonized
beautifully, and there were a few dance numbers that were greatly
impressive and entertaining.
On the whole, NUNSENSE contained a certain amount of
nonsense for me. However, I was able to enjoy it enough to recommend it
to anyone who would appreciate an audience-engaging, smart,
lighthearted and thoroughly unique musical.
NUNSENSE continues at Music Circus through July 29.
Performances are nightly at 8 p.m., except for Sunday, July 29, at 7:30
p.m. Matinees are at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 26 and Saturday,
July 28. Tickets for NUNSENSE are currently on sale
at the Wells
Fargo Pavilion Box Office at 1419 H Street, Sacramento, by phone at
(916) 557-1999.Tickets are also available on line
at www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com.
The 2007 Music Circus season will continue
with KISS ME, KATE (July 31 – August 5), ANNIE (August 7 – 12),
HELLO, DOLLY! (August 14 – 19), JEKYLL & HYDE (August 21 – 26)
and 1776 (August 29 – September 2.
