|
Broadway Cafe Society.com - Where Showtunes Come To Play! |
|
Home | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use | Contact | Site Map Spotlight On...
|
Dan Goggin is the author of NUNSENSE, an international musical comedy sensation that has spawned six sequels to date. He recently directed a production of one of his shows, NUNSENSE II: THE SECOND COMING, at the Campbell Theatre in Martinez, CA, and is working on his seventh NUNSENSE sequel. Interview made possible by Kristopher McDowell (KMP Tour Management) Photos courtesy of the official NUNSENSE website: www.nunsense.com.
For those few people out there who haven’t experienced NUNSENSE, could you give them a brief history of the show? It was a big hit! The concept of NUNSENSE really started as a greeting card which then turned into a press book about nuns in funny situations. A friend gave me a mannequin dressed as a sister and that sparked a cabaret show at the Duplex in New York City and then moved to off-Broadway in 1985. The entire show snowballed into a show that played all over the World. To date, there have been over 8,000 productions and has grossed over $500 million. Twenty-five years later here we are. In fact, in the last six months there have been over 160 NUNSENSE shows in various cities around the world. It's just so amazing that its hard for me to relate to the shows success. Our shows have played Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Circle Rep. and then to Fairbanks where we really settled into a long run. Those wacky nuns have certainly had some interesting adventures. Why so many sequels? Because people pay for them? I often feel like I work for The Carol Burnett Show and we keep getting renewed again and again. Look, if people keep laughing, I will keep writing.
Who was the inspiration for one of my personal favorites, sassy, smart-mouthed puppet Sister Mary Annette? Nobody specific. Basically the five nuns are based on my teachers growing up. I wanted to have a rude and sassy nun and the puppet was a perfect way to make that happen. Several staged NUNSENSE shows have been filmed for TV and DVD release. Have you ever been approached to write a big-screen version of the show? Yes. We have been approached twice as a matter of fact. The first time we were approached the company wanted all the rights and we decided we didn't want to lose control of everything. Sister Act, the movie, came out shortly after we declined the rights but Sister Act actually helped boost our sales. We had the TV shows by the time we were approached the second time to make a film version of NUNSENSE. By then it was very clear that these shows work best in real time, in other words they are made for the stage and we are very happy to be known in that capacity. NUNSENSE has had productions all over the world. Did you have to tweak any of the sketches or songs to help the show play better overseas? Every foreign company of NUNSENSE is done in their own language. There are people in each foreign city who work with my script to create the double entendre and properly translate to the local audiences. So much of NUNSENSE humor is in the double entendre and I am pleased we are able to reach other cultures by making them laugh. Not many shows can boast its own museum. Tell us about the Nunsense Museum. People enjoyed the Nunsense Museum so much in the west at Willows Cabaret in The Campbell Theatre (Martinez, CA) that we are taking the museum on tour. Our next home for the museum is The Seven Angels Theater (Waterbury, CT). Seven Angels in run by Artistic Director Semina de Laurantis who has performed with NUNSENSE in the past. One of the exhibits in the museum is an "Alumni Wall" with photos of various NUNSENSE casts from around the world. So what next for everyone’s favorite Brides of Christ? They are going to Hollywood! SCENES FROM ALL SEVEN
SHOWS IN THE NUNSENSE SERIES
NUNSENSE II: The Second Coming...
|
|