Madcap nuns return in zany ‘Nunsense II’

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 26, 2005

Caution: Those nun shows may be – ahem – habit forming.

By Patty Tackaberry

Special to The Herald

EVERETT – They’re b-a-a-a-ck! Those five wacky nuns, the Little Sisters of Hoboken, resume their funny fundraising efforts for the Mount St. Helens School (this time a variety show set against the “Mikado”) in “Nunsense II: The Second Coming.”

The kind-hearted jabs at the Roman Catholic Church and vaudevillian song and dance romps return, as the Northwest Savoyards reprise the fun with Sister Mary Regina, Mother Superior (Dee Smith), Sister Robert Anne (Sam Samano), Sister “Amnesia” (Laura Posey Benofsky) and Sister Mary Leo (Valerie Vestal). Sister Hubert this time around is played by Pat Ainsworth, who fits in with the gals just fine.

John Edwards directs and choreographs the five gifted sisters in this Dan Goggins show, with musical direction by Ken Keatts and David Spring. Kudos to the band (Ken Keatts, Dave Spring and Brad McRae) who accompany the nuns as they shift seamlessly from the classical Latin harmonies of “Jubilante Deo” into some tight, well-rehearsed George M. Cohan-esque numbers such as “Nunsense, The Magic Word.”

Posey Benofsky gets to again work the crowd with corny audience interaction jokes such as: “How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.” And Reverend Mother once more leads us in a round of bingo, getting our attention with her “clicker.”

The show relies on the same funny schtick of the four “lesser” nuns rhapsodizing about their stage biz fantasies – being tapped for “American Idol,” no less – until interrupted by Mother Superior’s reality checks.

A highlight remains Amnesia’s Sybil-esque repartee with her alter-ego, the habit-wearing puppet Sister Mary Annette. Amnesia as a country-western singer matches her Tammy Wynette-inspired yodel with the puppet’s throatier yodel.

Mary Leo still wants to be a ballerina, but she also gives roller skates a try, which leads to the inevitable one-liner about her being a “holy roller.”

Other show stealers include Amnesia accompanying Leo and Robert on the accordion in “The Padre Polka” and all five performing a soft shoe hat and cane number as the finale to Act I.

Brooklynite Sister Robert Anne opens Act II with her “habit humor” routine that sees her wrapping her scarf into new creations for impersonations of Gloria Swanson in “Nunset Boulevard” or Michael Jackson “before” (black side of habit revealed) and Michael Jackson “after” (white side showing.)

Later, Sister Hubert and the Reverend Mother get down with some Elvis impersonations in “What Would Elvis Do?”

This “Nunsense” recap inserts some playful intrigue and espionage with a couple of Franciscans (Scott Freshman and Steven Mann) skulking about, threatening to cart off Amnesia, as well as the appearance of Padre Nick (Nick Fuchs, who is this show’s real stage manager and also plays one on the stage).

In the Catholic Guide to Gift Giving episode, Reverend Mother is like a barker at a carnival hawking such items as the Pasta Madonna kit, the John the Baptist party tray, and the ever popular Pope on a Rope soap.

Needless to say, this revisitation (pardon all the puns) offers plenty of fresh gags about the new German pontiff.

Steve Bye photo

The Northwest Savoyards’ “Nunsense II” gang: (back, from left) Pat Ainsworth, Dee Smith, Sam Samano; (front) Valerie Vestal, Laura Posey Benofsky.