'Nunsense' a riot if you get the jokes

"NUNSENSE; Ragan Theater, Sorensen Student Center, UVSC campus; closes Nov. 4 (phone 863-8337); running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes (one 15-minute intermission).

OREM — The Sisters at Mount Saint Helens Catholic Convent and School from Hoboken are at it again, and this time their fund-raising antics have landed them at Utah Valley State College.

This rendition of Dan Goggin's epic and ofttimes irreverent show features a talented cast of women (and a few men) portraying the befuddled Sisters of Hoboken. They are seeking funds to bury the last few nuns that died from eating Sister Julia Child of God's vichyssoise recipe. What ensues is a night full of comedy, music and for some in the audience — laughter.

Try as they might, this talented cast had a hard time pulling laughs from the audience. The cast was wonderful and should not be faulted for the locals' lack of Catholic upbringing. After all, a quick survey by the cast showed Saturday night's Orem audience featured only one Catholic family — God bless them.

Members of the cast include Laura Garner (Reverend Mother-Sister Mary), Kiki Shakespeare-Thompson (Sister Hubert), Kristen Douglas (Sister Robert Anne), Jana Grass (Sister Mary Amnesia) and Deidre Wagner (Sister Leo). Onstage support came from the musical combo of Eric Manning on bass, Richard Morris, percussionist and Jeremy Showgren, music director and keyboards. The men dressed as monks and a priest.

Each member of the cast held her own in the humor and music department, but there were two major standouts — Grass' Sister Mary Amnesia and Shakespeare-Thompson's Sister Hubert. By the end of the show (when Sister Hubert does her "Holier Than Thou" number) you think you're at a Baptist revival. Sister Mary Amnesia played off the audience well and her improv was impressive. Another standout is Douglas' Sister Robert Anne singing "St. Claire's Religion Class" at the opening of Act II.

The sets were fun with a '50s motif. They were seemingly left on stage after the convent's theater production of "Grease." Of course the costuming was fairly simple, black robes, white wimples. However, the props brought their own bit of laughter, particularly for the Reverend Mother's fan dance.

This is an entertaining show for those who can ease up for some of the humor and take it for what it's worth.

Sensitivity rating: Not for children under 8 years. Also, a few bits of religious-oriented humor may be offensive to some in the community.

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