Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical
Christmas Candy Corn
I’ve never been a program checker. I’m against it. I don’t sample ice cream and I don’t peep my program during live theater. Personal policy. Which I violated a few scenes into the first act of Nuncrackers at Sonoma Arts Live as I confusedly tried to figure out just what the hell I was looking at. Okay fine. I took edibles. It was dancing nuns, people. Bad journalism, though – because a simple Google search later revealed that Nuncrackers had its 1998 premiere at some place called the Chanhassen Dinner Theater in Minneapolis. Ah. Midwest dinner theater. Got it.
Anyway, I wouldn’t really call Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical a musical. It’s a cabaret. In a series of nine others. NINE Nunsenses. There’s a country western one. A drag one. A Nunsense where the nuns meet Jewish people. MeshuggahNuns. Of course. It’s interesting that a franchise of not-quite-musicals about goofy nuns even exists. That millions of people have paid to see. Worldwide. And I saw the Christmas one. High. Apple cinnamon Lost Farm live resin gummies by Kiva are Christmassy and enthusiastically effective, particularly for a lapsed Catholic watching a show that has a nun puppet, nuns wearing tutus, a drunk priest and a chorus of Catholic school girls who, to paraphrase The Red Hot Chili Peppers, ruled.
Once my brain settled down I found myself enjoying the unapologetic corniness – although I can’t say the same for my friend Heron James, who dosed higher than I did and white knuckled the entire show, terrified of audience participation. Personally, I thought Maeve Smith’s crowd work was delightful. Her solo act as Sister Mary Paul handing out saintly Secret Santa gifts was wonderfully funny, but it was Libby Oberlin as the Reverend Mother and Dani Innocenti Beem as Sister Robert Anne who were like, hold our beers – because those two elevated a show that probably gets performed in church halls a lot to something very worth watching. Director Andrew Smith created intelligent stage pictures that stabilized the holiday cheese really well – although I wouldn’t have a Catholic priest and a little kid sitting on a bench completely alone for too long, especially while the priest won’t stop singing about his Christmas box. It got weird. Sound designer Lauryan Malilay’s skillful balance seemed deprived by a sound system that didn’t quite fill the space. Somebody start a GoFundMe for new speakers for Sonoma Arts Live. ‘Tis the season. Real talk: Nuncrackers was fun. Wholesome camp and holiday cheer. You should go.
Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical has one weekend left at Sonoma Arts Live!
Dec 14 – 16 at 7:30 pm and Dec 17 at 2:00 pm. https://www.sonomaartslive.org/
Jackie Blevins can be reached at jackieblevins24601@gmail.com
