ML High School choir students performing a little ‘Nunsense'

By CARA LORELLO

Staff Reporter

When a group of Medical Lake High School choir and drama students got together for a slumber party following the closing of last year's final production, they hadn't planned to come away cast as leads in the following year's next big play “Nunsense,” a musical comedy opening on Nov. 29.

Perhaps it was destined to happen when MLHS teacher Ginny Luhn played a DVD of the successful off-Broadway play during the party, and the girls immediately began matching people they thought would fit the cast of five nuns who devise a clever way to raise money for the burials of several members of the Little Sisters order of Hoboken, New Jersey, after a poisoned batch of vichyssoise soup kills off most of their convent.

Most of the five-part cast of the play was assigned that night, MLHS senior Brittany Bordoy said.

“We had in mind which person would best fit the part. The parts we play pretty much fit our characters,” Bordoy said, who, along with senior Rushele Provoncha, plays Mother Superior Sister Mary Regina.

The surviving nuns of Hoboken are a ragtag troop with a shared desire for the spotlight. The musical plays up the character's unique personalities and what each sister brings to the spotlight.

Mother Superior is a former tightrope circus performer who is told by either Saint Katherine of Sienna or Thomas Aquinas in drag to start a greeting card company to raise money for the convent burials. The nuns are successful at this, until Mother buys a DVD player with their money.

With four unburied nuns on ice, the sisters stage a variety show for their convent school to raise more money.

Sister Mary Hubert, played by senior Sarah Bennett, takes an adversarial role as Mother's second in command. “Hubert is always saying to Mother, ‘Well, we wouldn't have to do this [show] if you hadn't gone and bought that DVD player,'” Bennett said of her character.

Senior Jessica Shirley fashioned a Brooklyn-style accent to play the part of street-wise Sister Robert Anne, while junior Jessica Henkel gets to improvise her performance throughout the play as Sister Mary Amnesia, who turns up at the convent with no memory after a crucifix falls on her head.

“I can mess up wherever I want to because some of it's purposefully written in,” Herkel said.

The play contains several songs and singing is required for all parts, but since the cast is a also part of the high school's windborne ensemble, taught by drama teacher Michelle Watkins, there was never a need for voice coaching when rehearsals began in September. Cast members memorized the musical numbers using a combination of the play's script, soundtrack and DVD.

In addition to singing, there's a few dance numbers as well.

Student Lydia Cook who plays “novice” nun Sister Mary Leo choreographed all the moves. Watkins and Luhn arranged for a professional choreographer sit in on a rehearsal for suggestions on how they might improve the dances, who advised they not change a thing from Cook's act.

Cook, who's taken professional dance for 10 years, fit the part well. Mary Leo believes her mission is to become the world's first ballerina nun.

“She sees it as her calling, and that's why she's entered the convent,” Cook said.

The play requires no make- up or costume changes outside of the sisters' regular habits, which were designed and sewn by student Kim Nesper.

The set is a conglomerate of pieces left over by a previous production of “Grease,” redone by student Megan Weirauch.

The production will also include live music courtesy of senior Arielle Aguado (drums) and Janet Robo (piano) who's performed previously for Spokane Civic Theater.

Opening night for “Nunsense” is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Medial Lake High School.

The play schedule is as follows: 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, Friday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 8, and 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 9. Admission is $5 per person. For more information, contact Watkins at 565-3222.

Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]