Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Jeanne Tinker, Bambi Jones, Deborah Del Mastro (top),
Carrie Keskinen, Susan Goeppinger (bottom)

The [tag]Willows Theatre?s 30th Anniversary[/tag] season featuring popular shows from the company?s history would not have been complete without a visit from the singing, dancing Little Sisters of Hoboken. The nuns of New Jersey once again strut their stuff in [tag]Nunsensations: The Las Vegas Nunsense Revue[/tag], the sixth incarnation in Dan Goggin?s series of campy Catholic musical comedies. The first five were huge hits for The Willows, and this latest extravaganza promises to be no exception.

Through some plot contrivance or other, the talent-blessed quintet ventures from Hoboken to Sin City where they?re playing the Mystique Motor Lodge?s Pump Room Lounge. The formula for fun is familiar. The sisters sing up a storm, deliver shtick like pros, and have a spirited good time, but in the new locale, they get to add sequins, feathers, and poker chips to the mix.

Writer/composer/director Goggin brings along the original ensemble for this West Coast premiere, including three ladies who are no strangers to the Concord stage. Jeanne Tinker, Deborah Del Mastro, and Carrie Keskinen have all donned habits in past Willows productions. Tinker is particularly delightful as Sister Mary Amnesia. Her comic timing and facial expressions light up Amnesia?s hysterically dim bulb. As the Brooklyn-bred Sister Robert Anne, Del Mastro is a perfect blend of swagger and warmth. The brassy dynamo brings down the house with her Merman-esque belt in ?Why Sing a Ballad.?

Keskinen (Sister Mary Leo) along with Susan Goeppinger (Reverend Mother) and Bambi Jones (Sister Mary Hubert) add strong performances to the merriment, but occasionally Rich Hamson?s inspired costumes steal the show. Look for fabulously funny head gear in the Cirque du Soleil send-up plus some tassled showgirl finery in the Rev?s reminiscence ?The Fifth from the Right.?

For those who?ve seen any of the other Nunsense performances, there?s not a whole lot that?s new here, but Goggin does what he does well with a Vegas twist. Some audience members get to gamble for prizes with the Holy Rollers Giant Slot Machine. Clever and cute choreography by Teri Gibson features in ?Life is a Game of Chance? and ?From Vaudeville to Vegas,? alongside peppy musical highlights like ?Take the Money and Run? and ?When the Chips are Down.? All this on the Willows stage transformed to a kitschy lounge by Barry Axtell?s tacky pink set and Rich Latta?s glitzy lighting.

A little naughty, if not as sinful as it sounds, Nunsensations isn?t quite immaculate either. Many of the jokes have made the rounds on the internet at least once, and the tunes are fairly forgettable. Thankfully the cast, costumes and choreography offer up enough glimpses of heaven to convert skeptics to devotees. It?s a safe bet for a good time now through January 28, 2007. Call 925-798-1300 or visit www.willowstheatre.org for tickets or information.