“NUNSENSE” OFF ON A MERRY ROMP IN WEST HARTFORD

BRANDI PORTER, AMANDA FORKER AND HILLARY EKWALL GIVE A COOKING LESSON

Thanks to playwright Dan Goggin, his favorite elementary school nuns are on the move again. Those engaging Little Sisters of Hoboken will be kicking up their sturdy heels until Sunday, October 13 dressed in their black and white simplicity. Mother Superior Mary Regina (Amanda Forker) and her favorite quartet of sisters want to entertain you and they are willing to pull out all the stops to showcase their talents. Believe me, you have never seen nuns with these “habits” ever before.

 

In “Nunsense A Musical Comedy,” the good sisters have to solve a sticky problem: how to bury the last four nuns, victims originally numbering 52, who were accidentally poisoned by the chef Sister Julia, Child of God, in a bad soup incident. When the sisters ran out of burial fees, they stuck the last four nuns in the freezer and now the New Jersey Board of Health is on the way for an inspection. Of course, if the Mother Superior hadn’t diverted funds to buy a large screen television set, this crisis could easily have been averted, or so says the second in command, Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices (Brandi Porter).

 

What can the Little Sisters do, after they panic, but put on a fundraising party, a variety show, to raise the much needed funds. To that end, Mother Superior, who once was a tight rope walker in the circus, is calling upon all her theatrical skills. She is mobilizing the talents of Sister Mary Hubert to “Tackle That Temptation with a Time Step.” For the budding ballerina Sister Mary Leo (Rachel Oremland) who dedicates the dance to God, it’s the sweet and sentimental thoughts conjured up with “Lilacs Bring Back Memories.”

 

For Sister Mary Amnesia (Hillary Ekwall), who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head, it’s using her best friend, the puppet Sister Marionette, and giving a lesson on joining the convent for the trio of benefits: poverty, chastity and obedience. Last, but not forgotten, is Sister Robert Anne (Lily Dickinson) who grew up as a troubled kid in Brooklyn and is the perpetual understudy for the cast. Until, that is, an accident sidelines the Reverend Mother and Sister Robert Anne gets to belt out “I Just Want to Be a Star.”

 

Between the religious quizzes, the cooking lessons from the B. V. M. (Blessed Virgin Mary), the country singing sessions, a quick trip to the drive-in movie, the show under the fine direction of Darlene Zoller will prove that “Nunsense is (delightfully) Habit Forming.”

 

For tickets ($47.50-50), call the Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10, or online atwww.PlayhouseOnPark.org. Performances are Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

 

Discover the humor of the nun, complete with clackers and rulers, to make sure you sit up straight, are respectful and, most of all, have a great time.