THEATRE REVIEW: Nuncrackers

Millbrook Playhouse, located in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, is a true summer stock venue. Imagine the thrill when I learned that Millbrook was extending their season by doing a Christmas production at the Lock Haven Elks. To make things even more exciting, this play included the characters from Nunsense, a very popular, funny show.

Nuncrackers is the story of the first televised Christmas concert put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken. In Nunsense the nuns were trying to raise enough money to bury the deceased sisters still being stored in the freezer. Through a hilarious twist of events, a large sum of money fell into their laps. That money was used to build WCON-TV, the cable access television station.

Sister Mary Regina, the Mother Superior, was played by the multi-talented Marc de la Concha. The role demands a lot of stage time and Marc -- or Mother Superior-- does his/her best to hold the varied cast together.

The sisters, Mary Hubert, Robert Anne, Mary Paul "Amnesia", and Mary Leo are played by Amelia Lang-Wallace, Tiffany Green, Melissa Mabus, and Kali Haines respectively. Sister Mary Annette played herself. Nicholas Wilder joined the sisters as Father Virgil Manly Trott. The children were played by Derek Grove, Olivia Hanna, Brian Lose, and Tori May. These names should sound familiar to regular Millbrook supporters.

Some of the sketches were laugh out loud funny and the audience did, regularly. “In The Convent”, with bows to The Village People, was my favorite. Even the body gestures were correct. The harmony in “The Three Kings” did the Andrew Sisters proud.

Father Virgil had to fill in for Sister Julia Child of God, the convent cook, and the rum for the fruitcake seemed to end up in the good Father. It was his shining moment.

The star of the show is definitely Mother Superior. Every member of the cast is extremely talented, but Marc de la Concha can do it all. It was worth the price of admission to see him and Father Virgil do a Sugar Plum Fairy dance-off.

I am hoping we see this group of actors on the stage at Millbrook this coming summer. I have heard some hints of their upcoming productions, so watch for more information. It is always fun to watch talent working hard to entertain us, and talented this group is.

The Mother Superior, a.k.a Marc de la Concha, and three of the Loosely Lutheran Literary Ladies:
 Pat Park, Genevive Robine, and Lynn Dankanich