Tickets $15 ($9 for children) ____________________________________________________________________________
One of these days, someone is going to type the word Goggin in an online dictionary, and the definition that comes up will read something like this: [adj] somewhat hokey, "wacky" (and with big quotation marks); [v] the lacing of Catholic humor with intermittent gay jokes and thinly-veiled ribald exclamations.
And you’ll probably see a picture of a nun in an old-fashioned penguin-style habit.
What won’t be playing if you click on the music clip is "One of These Things is Not Like the Other" from Sesame Street, because Dan Goggin’s never-ending NUNSENSE franchise is nothing if not predictable.
If you’ve ever seen a Goggin show – and I mean any of them – you’ve essentially seen them all. NUNSENSE (now often referred to as NUNSENSE I), NUNSENSE II: THE SECOND COMING, NUNSENSE 3: THE JAMBOREE and NUNSATIONS: THE VEGAS REVIEW feature the same characters, jokes, set-up, format and musical styles as NUNCRACKERS: THE CHRISTMAS MUSICAL. In case you need a larger dose, there is even NUNSENSE: THE MEGA MUSICAL, which apparently has more of everything.
(As an aside, I’m sure that somewhere out there, even in this economy, someone is raising money for a theater that will produce nothing but these shows in rotation, with thru-casting and a costume budget with a two- or three-year amortization. If you’re only planning to raise that money now that you read my last sentence, then I’d better get my ten percent, okay?)
The Quad City Music Guild production of NUNCRACKERS running December 4-7 is a lot like any other NUNSENSE show you may have seen. There are bickering nuns, wanna-be-a-star nuns, one each of the I’m-uptight-but-I-still-like to-get-down and dim-witted varieties, tacky props, some kind of technical failure, a hapless priest who always seems to end up in a dress, a trash-mouthed puppet, and a cooking segment and a dance number that go awry. There is roughly a 20:1 pun-to-nun ratio, more than a few oblique references to sex, and jokes galore about all things Catholic. I think there is always a pretty song about a rough childhood, at least one cheesy country-western song, and a big, uptempo gospel number near the end.
This is formulaic stuff, for sure, but it is also a formula that works, theater fans. (Okay, it doesn’t work for everybody, but you know which side of the Either/Or poster you belong on.)
The folks who are NUNSENSE fans are always wanting more – hence the MEGA MUSICAL – so this is the crowd who probably be thoroughly entertained by the Music Guild version during this holiday season. It’s a pretty decent production overall, and its deficits are sure to be smoothed over by the cheesy charm that is so beloved by so many.
On the positive side, the cast has choreographer Pami Triebel’s work looking pretty good, and music director Cindy Ramos-Parmley (who also plays keyboard) has the "Mt. St. Helens Band" sounding fine, too. At the final dress rehearsal that I reviewed, the ensemble’s performances were still a bit uneven, but playing to what is likely to be a full house might be just what some actors need to step on up – so things might be sharper by the time you see it. The faux-country "Santa Ain’t Comin’ to Our House" is the weakest number, but there are other songs that are quite strong.
David Bailey, who plays the put-upon Father Virgil, is a bit tentative with "The Christmas Box," but he still sounds sweet when he sings it. Bailey also turns in a boozy, good-natured performance during Father Virgil’s substitution for a missing sister who was supposed to have demonstrated how to make fruitcake – and his subbing for an injured nun (in the group’s slaughter of THE NUTCRACKER) is a priceless bit of hilarity that perfectly closes out the first act.
As Sister Robert Anne, the Brooklyn-tough nun, Jill King gets almost every great song in this show. Chief among them is the highly comedic "Twelve Days Prior to Christmas," which explains why the angel is at the top of the Christmas tree (complete with lyrics about hanky-panky between male deer who are decked out in "gay apparel’) – and is delivered by Robert Anne’s alter ego, the aforementioned puppet. King is also a standout on the absolutely lovely "Jesus Was Born in Brooklyn" and the tongue-in-cheek "All I Want For Christmas," both of which showcase major pipes.
The tiny Christine Goodall is a cute presence throughout the show, but it is her delivery of the outsized "It’s Better to Give" (despite the downright weird lyrics on a verse or two) that proves her shining moment. Despite King’s vocal dominance for most of NUNCRACKERS, Goodall takes center stage for "Better to Give," a rousing gospel number. And when she does, she tucks the show somewhere in a fold of her habit, flashes us that blinding, cheeky grin – complete with gorgeous dimples – and then walks right off with it.
I can’t say I’m a real fan of the material, but King and Goodall had moments when they almost lured me over to the other side. If you’re already there, you won’t want to miss this NUNCRACKERS.
