Ship of Foolishness
Reviewed
3/27/04
by Dan Goggin
Directed by Jim Linde
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
Viad Playhouse on the Park, Phoenix
(602) 264-0402
March 27th - April 18th , 2004
$26.00 - $28.00 ($7 Student Rush half hour before curtain)
The Nunsense series celebrates both its twentieth anniversary and its sixth installment this year. The cute, somewhat clever send-up of Catholicism has become an institution for writer Dan Goggin. The current installment is getting its Arizona premiere by the most unlikely of companies: Arizona Jewish Theatre Company is offering the integrated production of Meshuggah-Nuns! In this script, the Little Sisters of Hoboken take an all faiths cruise but find themselves called upon when violent seas leave the performers of the shipboard musical Fiddler on the Roof unable to perform, save for the Tevye. Jewish performer Howard (Jim Roehr) joins forces with feisty Sister Mary Hubert (Erahn Patton), Brooklyn-born Sister Robert Ann (Maria Amoroch), dim Sister Amnesia (Stephanie Likes), and the Reverend Mother Sister Mary Regina (Patricia Kennedy). In this production, there's lots of silliness that's balanced by several clunky jokes. It's important to note that AJTC and director Jim Linde have infused this kitschy production with as high production values as possible. Robbie Vaughn's set is a giant send-up of the performance stage of a cruise ship. The atmosphere is set from the interactive beginning throughout all of the evening. There's no high comedy here, just a lot of groaners and quite a bit of mirth at the expense of every topic possible.
While the evening is cute, there is one prevalent problem that defeats a lot of the expense and consideration that has been put into the production. Bill Osborne's sound design is set up in such a way that Flora Mogerman's three-piece orchestra is overpowering. When the performers are singing in groups of two or more, they are reasonably easy to hear. However, when solos occur, it's almost impossible to understand the singer.
Beyond this glaring problem, the performers and their performances are all quite enjoyable. The voices of the four women are impeccable, and Roehr is a solid presence. They all take their characters to heart, and each gets their moment to shine. Troy Rintala's general choreography is simple and straightforward, matching the requirements of the script.
Troy Buckey's lighting is uniform, while Cari Smith's costumes are quite successful.
You get what you pay for with this fun evening. You can't help but enjoy yourself watching nuns prancing around the AJTC audience, passing out Catholic memorabilia and other knick-knacks. I find it ironic that this show, which can hardly be called the most engrossing evening of theatre, will probably sell out every performance while other great productions that AJTC has presented this season, such as Collected Stories and The Value of Names, go largely unnoticed by the public. Silliness sells.
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