Customer Reviews

Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical (1998 Original Cast)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nuncrackers: the Nunsense Christmas musical takes us back to Mount St Helens Convent where we find the Little Sisters of Hoboken preparing for a Christmas presentation of The Nutcracker, with Sister Leo dancing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy, in the new public access cable television studio Reverend Mother built using the winnings from the Publishers Clearing House. However, as usually happens with the good Sisters, things go horribly awry and the Sisters, along with Father Virgil and students from Mount St Helens School, attempt to repair the televised Christmas program the only way they know how; through their faith and a few Broadway musical numbers! If your theatre company is looking for something different to produce for the holidays, or if you just enjoy reading scripts, Nuncrackers is a fresh new option. This script full of colorful characters, hilarious dialogue, loving jabs at the Catholic faith, and a non-stop sense of merriment, is wrapped up in a beautiful Christmas package to share with and delight the entire family. My rating is based on the fact that I have enjoyed the other Nunsense materials written by Mr. Goggin, but too many sequels take the shine off of the original concept. If this is your first taste of the wacky world of Nunsence, then you are in for a treat with Nuncrackers: the Christmas Musical

Perhaps this Nunsaga will have run its course with this third entry. (Think, though, of the Rocky films and shudder.) Again I am sure that hearing these songs in context will make them much more sensible; but as they stand on this pleasant little CD from DRG, while none of them are less than enjoyable, none of them are particularly good--in the sense that some songs from "Pajama Game" and all the songs from "Guys and Dolls" are good: clever lyrics, very memorable melodies. But the whole gimmick started to show nuns truckin' on down; and so being intellectually clever in the manner of W.S. Gilbert or Larry Hart or Cole Porter had nothing to do with it. Look at it this way. If you liked the other two albums, you are bound to like this one. If you are looking for a relief for the seasonal songs that start being played two minutes after Thanksgiving dishes are washed, then the spin on the Yuletide Cheer provided by this CD will please you. For me, the 4 stars means it is very well done for what it attempts to do.

It should be noted that this item is NOT the script or libretto for "Nuncrackers". Even though it never says so in the information above, this is the VOCAL SELECTIONS from the show. I think that that should have been made clear in the title line!

I recently performed this show, portraying the character Father Virgil Manly Trots. I had some reservations about the music at first, but when listening to this, it cannot be taken seriously. "Nuncrackers" has some of the most raunchiest underlying lyrics I've heard in a while. "It's better to give than it is to receive. For in giving you get back much more, that's what we believe..." or "All I want for Christmas is a one night stand..." Ha! "The Christmas Box" is one of the only serious ballads in the show, besides a corny version of "Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem" sung by Sister Robert Anne. "In the Convent" is a rousing take on the Village People's "In the Navy." The "Christmas Sing A Long" is a random smattering of just about every Christmas carol known to man. We had a great time performing the show. What the music lacks it makes up for in the staging! Where else can a Father dress up like Sister Julia (Child of God) and get drunk while putting on a cooking show!?!? Don't get me wrong, the songs will leave you humming the melody after the first listen, and you NEED to hear each piece a couple of times to pick up all of the nuances! So, get the CD. If you're lucky enough to catch a live performance of it, even better!

I never actually saw the show, but I performed it ten times in front of an audience. The songs were great, my favorites included "In the Convent" which had C-O-N-V-E-N-T instead of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, "All I Want for Christmas", and "Twelve Days prior to Christmas". Of course everyone loved Sister Amnesia's idea of a Christmas present: a polish Christmas Card, and Reverend Mother's Scratch and Sniff Mel Gibson. Saint Victoria's secret, and Sister Julia's(portrayed by Father Virgil for reasons found out in the show)way to make a fruit cake kept the audience full of laughter. For the people who liked the deep heartfelt ballads there were "Jesus Was Born in Brooklyn" and "The Christmas Box". Even during rehearsal we were cracking up when Sister Amnesia and the kids sang "Here We Come a Waffeling", "The Holly and the Ivory", and "The First Noel the Angels Did Say Was to Certain Poor Leapords". I can still hear Reverend Mother saying "No Amnesia it's...." Of course a big part of the show is Mount Saint Helen's own rendition of the Nutcracker. You see, after Sister Amnesia won the publisher's clearing House sweepstakes they spend the money on a TV studio. They are now filming their very first Christmas speacisl, in which Sister Leo will play the Sugar Plum Fairy in there own rendition of the Ball Breaker(Nutcracker).Unfortunately the Sugar Plum Fairy can't dance so a very drunk Father Virgil and Reverend Mother both come out fully clad and then begin to fight. It's extremely funny, but not all that suitable for young children. This is a play where there really is something for everyone.

Why isn't the song, "In the Convent," included in the sheet music for this musical? This song is my favorite and appears to be the only one missing.

I got the opprotunity to work on the crew of this funny show and loved avery minute of it! The CD sounds just like the cast that I worked with (Jeff Trachta, Dawn Wells, Dody Goodman) and I would recomend it to anyone who loves humorous musicals. I only wish that they included Father Vergil as Julia Childs on the CD as well (it was the funnyest part). The diffrent memories and wishes of the nuns are made into songs, my favorite being All I Want For Christmas.

Great CD! I saw this production (the original cast) and it was fabulous.. The songs are hysterical, especially while being performed, and who couldn't love those kids? hee hee! (Had to put that, cuz I was a kid in the show.. LOL.. it was very funny though, the audiences had a lot of great laughs!)