The cast of Life with Mother Superior ("The Trouble with Angels). The girls, descending the staircase from top to bottom, are: Ashley Munn (Mary), Brandee DeJong (Charlotte), Annie Snider (Rachel), Sara Helgaas (Valerie), and Jenny Thompson (Marvel Ann). The nuns, left to right, are: Judi Morton (Ligouri), Carrie Stensrud (Constance), Barbara Jurek (Felicia), Jan Ronning (Elizabeth), and Rebecca Chapman (Mother). Beth/Bert/Bud/Bowser Chapman is the one wearing the hat (Petrie/George/Gottchak). The stained glass window on the wall designates the stairway as the chapel. The blue curtain and gold cross cover the window to the cloister.
"Where did you get these?"
"The plumber left them."
"I'm not sure I like them."
"Good. You'll have something you hate you can give up for Lent."
Got a laugh every time.
Bert Chapman (or is that Bud? Bowser?) played all three male roles. Here's Mr. Petrie defending the abomination that is New Trend's creative concept of progressive education... free wheeling, free thinking, and finger painting. For Mr. Gottchak and Uncle George, Beth (her real name) developed southern and maple syrup accents.
"The child... is ingenuous but ingenius, simple yet profoundly wise, a hidden fountain from which bubbles forth..." Mary and Rachel have sabotaged the sisters' tea with Bubble Charm. Use sparingly. A capful makes a tubful. See the bubbles?
Reverend Mother and Sister Ligouri share a box of Fatty Farmer's Finest Chocolates, donated by Uncle George's secretary. Judi Morton did an extraordinary job developing her character. Well done, rookie.
Go fish. Meanwhile, Marvel Ann hoards her munchies. In another dorm scene, the girls suffer from the cold but can't agree on repair strategies. "I can't stuff His Holiness in a window!" "Well, I'm not giving you Brad Pitt!" The Queen of May wreath is a tribute to a chapter in Trahey's book not used in the play or the movie. And SURVIVAL QUEST is just another name for a life devoted to God. Can you spot the bottle of Bubble Charm?
The band sequence got a spontaneous round of applause every night.
"How's the water, sister?" It looks like Sister Felicia chopped their heads off, but actually, she just dunked them.
The sewing and pool scenes were also choregraphed to soundtrack music. "Something better" also brought spontaneous applause a couple of times... I'm not sure the actresses ever realized how really subtle and touching the scene was. The background photo of a diverse group of kids reflects internet research into parochial schools; one respondent remembers the nuns assuming that EVERYONE, no matter what his or her background, would succeed.
A discussion of what will become of Mary in the future leads to one of Charlotte's fainting spells. "What do YOU want to be, Marvel Ann?" "Anything but a secretary."
The departure of Sister Constance piggy-backed nicely with the death of Sister Ligouri. The feather dusters were plumes from ancient marching band uniforms stored in the building that houses the Paulson Downstage Theatre. If only there were boots, too!
NunFest 2000? Hey, whatever the producer wants, the producer gets. The president of the club that produced the play wanted a tap-dancing sequence... and Jan and Judi and Carrie wanted to sing... and the kids wanted more time to change costumes before and after the pool sequence. Say amen, somebody!
webbrl@morris.umn.edu