THEATER REVIEW: Nunsense A-Men!

NUNSENSE A-MEN! What a perfect choice to end the Fifty Year Celebration at Millbrook Playhouse. It gave the audience a chance to see several favorite actors, as well as a couple of new ones, having a wild and crazy time on stage.

The story is simple: Five of the Little Sisters of Hoboken need to have a fund raiser to bury the four dead nuns who are currently being kept in the food freezer before the Board of Health discovers them. That is a funny enough premise, but what if we dress five men in habits and have them play the nuns? (Why do we roll in the aisle at men dressed as women? It is always a crowd pleaser.)

Tall, very tall, Josh Houghton as the ballerina want-to-be Sister Leo was great casting. Because of Josh’s height, I was not expecting great ballet numbers and- I was right. His “Dying Swan” really had to be seen. Let us think about Josh as an actor; we have seen him as Snoopy, Shakespeare’s Lysander, the seductive El Gallo, and now, Sister Leo. That is quite a range. I am always torn about this type of talent. Do we selfishly want to see him back at Millbrook next year or do we unselfishly wish a very lucrative future on bigger stages for him?

Sister Robert Anne was played by another favorite, Richard Guido. Richard has a Millbrook resume that would fill this review. (He has spent seven summers at Millbrook). I first remember him as Captain Hook, but some of his “drag roles” are my favorites. NUNSENSE showed that he could also do great stand-up comedy.

photo courtesy of Millbrook Playhouse

Cory Lawson has proven that he can handle Shakespeare with his role as Bottom earlier this summer. Sister Hubert gave him a chance to prove that he a can sing! Sister Hubert has the show stopping number, “Holier Than Thou” and Cory had the audience right with him. The harmony work with Mother Superior, Richard Koons Wagoner, was delightful.

Richard Koons Wagoner’s name was new to me. His Mother Superior was stern and tried hard to keep his cast in line. His ability to play to the audience was a big part of making this a fun evening. His credits mention that he will be playing Edna in Hairspray in a theatre in Arizona soon. THAT I would love to see!

Each time that I have seen NUNSENSE the audience has fallen in love with Sister Amnesia. Millbrook continued the tradition by casting Matt Kiesling in the role. Matt had the wide-eyed innocence down pat, at least until his routine with Sister Mary Inette, the hand puppet. He also really did shine in his vocal solo. This was Matt’s first appearance at Millbrook, but I hope we get to see him again before he moves to the big time.

Director Ovi Vargas must have given the actors the freedom to ad-lib much of the time or he was able to bring out the natural feeling of “a good time was had by all”. Either way, it worked. He also trimmed several scenes from the original script that helped to make the show flow better.

NUNSENSE has been extended until August the 17^th and I understand that a few tickets are still available. Call the box office at 570 748 8083 to be sure since this has been a sell- out run.

I am always sad when Millbrook’s season comes to an end. One of the joys of being a season ticket holder is that you get to see the versatility of the cast and crew as well as feel a part of the family. This year celebrated FIFTY YEARS of productions and I really believe that it was the best ever.

Thank you, Teresa Pond for assembling a very talented group. Sets, costumes, lighting, sound and front office were outstanding. To mention the list of on stage talent would take another page, but the total amount of pure talent was amazing. 

 

Note to the Board of Millbrook: Erla Mae, please keep up the great tradition of the past fifty years. Your audiences really do appreciate how hard you and your fellow board members work. See you next summer.