Nunsense Auditions

High Point Community Theatre will hold auditions for the final production of our 2009-2010 season, NUNSENSE on Monday, March 29 and Tuesay, March 30, 2010 at 7:00 pm at the HPCT office and rehearsal hall, 305 North Main Street, Suite 322, High Point, NC 27260.

NUNSENSE tells the story of five of the remaining few Little Sisters of Hoboken (the others perished due to a tainted vichyssoise prepared by their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God). Faced with the necessity of raising money to pay for the burials of their deceased sisters, the nuns decide to mount a musical variety show to cover the costs. The performance—featuring songs such as “The Biggest Ain’t the Best,” “Tackle That Temptation With a Time Step,” “The Dying Nun Ballet” and “Nunsense is Habit-Forming,”—is slightly unorthodox, and entirely hilarious.

Casting will be done for the five Sisters; The Mother Superior Mary Regina, Sister Mary Hubert, Sister Robert Ann, Sister Mary Amnesia and Sister Mary Leo. Those auditioning should prepare a song and bring sheet music in the proper key. A short dance combination will be taught

NUNSENSE is being directed by Bobby Bodford with musical direction by Michael Dougherty and choreography by Cara Kiser and will be performed May 13, 14 & 15, 2010 at 7:30 pm and May 16, 2010 at 2:00 pm at the High Point Theatre.

For further information, call 336-882-542 or email jblevins@hpcommunitytheatre.org.

Note: An ensemble of postulants and nuns will be included for pre-show, intermission and company numbers. An informational meeting about this ensemble will be set after Easter. Auditions on the 29th and 30th are for principal roles only.

High Point Enterprise Review

HPCT Puts on an Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph Rosenblum

For its second production of the season, HPCT has moved to Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church to stage its energizing performances of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” The venue is ideal not only because of the church’s beauty and great acoustics but also because each of the two acts supposedly begins in a Sunday School class before moving to ancient Canaan and Egypt.

The work is unusual even for a musical in that every word is sung. As narrator/Sunday School Teacher, Mary Lea Williams sings many of the numbers, and she does so beautifully. Her dance moves are also first-rate. Travis Vernon’s Joseph is equally impressive with his fine voice.

Brandon Lloyd Hicks (Gad) shines in the country-western “One More Angel in Heaven,” supported by a great square dance routine by his brothers and their wives. Jim Shover (Reuben) in “Those Canaan Days” delightfully imitates an Edith Piaf style song from the 1950s, and Dave Wils (Asher) gives a true Jamaican flavor to “Benjamin Calypso.” The brothers’ chorus in these two pieces is effective, and their dancing in the latter is perfection.

The brothers’ voices blend well in their all choral selections, as do their wives’, and their choreography throughout is equally impressive.

They are well supported by the Ensemble, which, like the brothers and wives, assumes a variety of roles, all of which everyone handles expertly.

Trey Cameron as Pharaoh provides a delightful Elvis imitation. He has the king’s moves and voice down pat. The twenty-seven children add immeasurably to the audience’s delight with their singing and dancing.

The orchestra never misses a beat, and the costumes designed by Jennifer Ackland and Georgann Schultz convey an air of authenticity

This is one of the best productions HPCT has staged. It is a happy-making show. Performances continue this week-end and next at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church. There are no Sunday matinees.

(Joseph Rosenblum teaches English at Bennett College for Women,
Greensboro.)

Joseph Rehearsal Preview

Tuesday Rehearsal

Tuesday's rehearsal for Joseph will be held as scheduled (7:00 pm at Wesley Memorial) with the exception of the ending time. The children's ensemble will be released at 8:30 and the rest of the cast by 9:30. Should the road conditions worsen we will change the ending time.

Please remember we are doing photos so wear a solid colored shirt - no white or black.

See you at 7:00.