Reviewer: Kristine Gotham
Venue: Bay City Players
Five women on a stage. They sing, they dance, they offer comedic routines, all while dressed in a nun’s habit. It’s not nonsense, its Nunsence, the latest performance at Bay City Players. This thoroughly enjoyable comedy is offered by The Friction Theatre, a relative newcomer to community theater.
Nunsense is a show within a show. On stage, the sisters of Mt. Saint Helen’s offer up a show with singing and dancing, showcasing the talents of the sisters, in the hopes of raising money to help with cleaning up a tragic accident at the convent. As the sisters perform their pieces, audience members are treated to a behind the scenes look at the relationships between the sisters and their own secret desires.
Mother Superior, Sr. Mary Regina is played by Trena Winans. While she may be tiny in stature, she is mighty. Sr. Mary Regina loves to be in the spotlight and Winans plays this to the hilt, revealing her true desire in her performance of “Turn Up the Spotlight.”
Danessa Hellus portrays Sr. Mary Hubert, Mother Superior’s second in command. It doesn’t take long to see that Sr. Mary Hubert longs to be the one in charge. Hellus’ comedic timing is perfect, using jokes and innuendo to reveal her character’s secret desire while also being the one that Mother Superior can turn to when thing don’t seem to go quite right.
Megan Krause-Meyer is co-founder of The Friction Theatre and plays Sr. Mary Amnesia, the nun who got hit on the head with a crucifix and can’t remember who she is. Krause-Meyer showcases her singing talent, not only performing with the other actresses, but employing the use of puppetry and ventriloquism, with great success, in her solo performance of “So You Want To Be A Nun”.
Sr. Robert Anne is played by Ella McKane-Wright. This powerhouse performer is paired in many numbers with other sisters and shines brightly in her performance of “I Just Want to Be A Star”.
Rounding out the cast is Claire Patterson as novice nun, Sr. Mary Leo. Patterson showcases her talent as a dancer, perfectly displaying Sr. Mary Leo’s secret desire to be a ballet dancer.
This show is an absolute delight. The set, as described by Sr. Mary Regina, is built for a student production of Vaseline, or um…Grease. The actresses are so convincing in their roles that the audience is not distracted by the incongruous set.
The sound and lighting are spot on, every voice clearly heard and every light cue met.
For being such a young company, director and co-founder, Chris Krause, has tackled a well known and long-time loved production with great skill and along with his production team has brought audiences a show that is a joy to watch.
Nunsense is playing at Bay City Players for one weekend only. Tickets are available at the Box Office. Performances are Saturday, September 7 at 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm, and Sunday, September 8 at 3 pm.