Review of "Nuncrackers"

It’s the holiday season and the nuns of Mount Saint Helen’s Convent are taping their first Christmas special in the cable access studio built by Reverend Mother.  Thus begins Nuncrackers, another Nunsense sequel from the fertile mind of writer and composer Dan Goggin.

The entertaining show, playing at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury through December 17^th, is a series of humorous skits and songs performed by the nuns—Reverend Mother, Sister Mary Hubert, Sister Robert Anne, and Sister Mary Paul (Amnesia)—from Hoboken, NJ.  They are joined by Father Virgil and a gaggle of young school kids.

Some of the vignettes can be quite funny as when Father Virgil and Reverend Mother spoof The Nutcracker as bumbling Sugar Plum Fairies and when the two hawk some rather unusual items on the Catholic Home Shopping Service.

The score by Dan Goggin, like with his other Nunsense efforts, are silly, lively, and jolly.  The song titles leave no room for doubt on the nature of the show.  There is the opening “Christmas Time is Nunsense Time,” “Santa Ain’t Comin’ to Our House,” “Jesus Was Born in Brooklyn,” and…well you get the idea.  They are accompanied by a marvelous three-piece band under the musical direction of JT Thompson.

The cast is a merry group, led by Michelle Goray as the businesslike, but affable Reverend Mother.  The actress has excellent comic timing and a droll sense of humor.  Cathy Wilcox-Sturmer is quite funny as Sister Robert Anne.  She is like the class clown, always going the extra mile to get a laugh or elicit a heavy groan.  Marcia Maslo as Sister Mary Paul (Amnesia) and Cat Heidel as Sister Mary Hubert round out the quartet of joking, good-natured nuns.  Mr. Waterbury himself, Tom Chute, is sufficiently daffy as Father Virgil.  He really knows how to wear a tutu and is quite extraordinary with his fruitcake recipe.  The young children in the cast add a down home flavor to the show.

Directors/Choreographers James Donohue and Semina De Laurentis keep the musical light and breezy, whether a scene is filled with song or a dialogue filled sketch.  They nimbly mix schtick-laden moments with poignancy and unabashed sentiment.

The Scenic Design by Daniel Husvar is suitably tacky, perfect for a local cable access production.

Nuncrackers, a different and diverting holiday show that, at the very least, will put a smile on your face and a twinkle in your heart.