With words, music, and lyrics all written by Dan Goggin, the musical first debuted off-Broadway in 1985, “Nunsense” tells the tale of five of the Little Sisters of Hoboken, a former missionary order, and their plight to raise money for the burials of four of their fallen sisters after a bout of food poisoning: a task they take on with humor.
The show offers a fresh look at the sisters, who have more spunk than one might anticipate from a missionary order, given the circumstances. Much of the dialogue is fresh, clerical puns. Sister Mary Hubert, played by Lisa Hodgson, notably offered her lines with a naturally wry delivery.
The sisters decide to organize a variety show to help their cause, though the order’s novices are also putting on a production of “Grease.” For this reason, the set is in classic 1950s theme with records, Elvis, and Marilyn Monroe cut-outs, whose pinup pose is hastily covered up by the nuns. All the sisters were dressed convincingly in traditional habits, although Sister Mary Leo, played charmingly by Melissa McNiel, tugged her slippers on underneath in a quest to become the first ballerina nun.
Reverend Mother Sister Mary Regina and Sister Robert Anne, played by Laura Harwood and Kimberly Sonntag, did impeccable jobs retaining their different accents throughout the entirety of the dialogue and song numbers. This was particularly impressive during Mary Regina’s humorous monologue when she finds an illicit substance that causes her to feel light on her feet.
Sister Mary Amnesia, played by Tiffany Crocker, spent much of the production as the tail of many jokes. However, Crocker put all that to rest with her powerhouse performance of “I Could’ve Gone to Nashville” in the second act. “Lilacs” was a sweet, evocative number that tied together the characters’ different pasts, and all of the sisters did an excellent job in “Tackle That Temptation with a Time Step,” the tap number that closed out the first act.
With engaging actors, punchy song numbers, and too many laugh-out-loud moments to count, I was very impressed with the cast’s production of this clerical, cheeky tale.
“Nunsense” performances run on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Theater 29 and continues its run through June 9. Tickets can be purchased online at theatre29.org, or by calling the Theatre 29 Box Office at 760-361-4151.
