Sisters in song bring the laughs in CLP's 'Nunsense'
By Noah Moore
I'll be the first to admit I did not attend Catholic school, I don't know my saints, and I barely remember the Lord's Prayer. Luckily, no prayers were needed thanks to immense laughter in Cincinnati Landmark Productions' production of Nunsense. Amid a litany of SNL-esque sketches, we follow a group of nuns raising funds for their dearly-departed sisters (who got food poisoning and are now in a freezer). The outrageous premise and sheer desperation deliver the laughs, even if for fear of being called on by Mother Superior.
Nunsense is a musical revue sung entirely by a small convent of nuns, themselves the last remnants of a convent that lost their numbers by way of tainted vichyssoise. The concept originated as greeting cards with quippy one-liners delivered by the beloved sisters, but in 1985 eventually evolved into a full-scale musical revue that shines light on each of the characters quirks and flaws in the most ridiculously funny ways possible.
As a five-person show, each cast member intermittently pops in for a number, but none more so than Diana Rogers as Mother Superior. Her sterness is reminiscent of my father's stories from Catholic school, with sharp verbal beat-downs seemingly ready to be fired at anyone out of line. This doesn't last forever, and I won't spoil why--let's just say she finds a...stimulant of sorts, and takes a drug-induced turn that showcases Rogers' comedic chops to a startling extreme.
Additional standouts are the comedic relief in Karli Smith's Sister Robert Anne, whose Jersey accent and exaggerated facials shined as she begged for her moment in the limelight. Anna Kahle as Sister Amnesia had a quiet humor that found laughs in silence, a rare feat, and Cassidy Perme's Sister Leo was the dance stand-out, buoyed by a brassy mezzo.
Director Douglas Berlon lets the material breathe and steer the show, as it should. Though some jokes landed harder for the Catholics, I found it to deliver sufficient hilarity in seeing nuns jam out in their habits. The musical is due to be set on the remnants of a previously-staged production--one I saw this summer was Grease, but this production set it to the remnants of their actual summer show, Anything Goes. This elevated the authenticity of its premise, but also made great fun out of the portholes and Reno Sweeney strut through opening doors, a credit to set designer Brett Bowling.
Even if your experience with nuns is limited, there's sure to be something to enjoy in Nunsense. A talented cast of six women and one understudy work hard, even in improvisation, to sell the show's hilarity. It works well, and had me singing Nunsense is habit-forming all the way home. Even if it sounds contradictory to say, it sure did give me one hell of a Sunday afternoon, and the church-goers surrounding me only made it more surreal. Check out the show running through October 6 at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts in Cincinnati. Tickets are available at https://www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com/ccpa/PurchaseTickets.aspx.
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