‘Nunsense’ Still Packs The Laughs
The Little Sisters of Hoboken strike again, bringing “Nunsense” to a grateful world.
Yes, the Carrousel Players of the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre are mounting “Nunsense” as the second show of its four-show summer stock season.
Many theatergoers are already familiar with this non-stop festival of nun antics. Ever since playwright and composer Dan Goggin first opened this show off-Broadway in 1985, it has proven to be a word-of-mouth sensation.
It eventually moved uptown and played for years in New York, as well as around the world. It has spawned a sequel, “Nunsense II,” and another show called “Nunsense Jamboree.”
But the original remains the funniest, and even now, 13 years later, it is still packing them in in New York, this time with an all male cast (they’re calling it “Nunsense, A-Men!”).
The secret of “Nunsense’s” success has been its rude and irreverent wit, which puts the Mother Superior in a feather boa, among other things. Yet it also manages to be hysterical without crossing the line into meanness or offensiveness.
“One of the reasons I wanted to do ‘Nunsense’ is that I had always had a good experience with nuns,” Goggin once told the Catholic Standard and Times. “My strong feeling was, ‘This is what they’re really like, if you want to know.’ “
He showed them as fun-loving, good-natured and human. Boy, are they ever human.
The Spokane area has been particularly susceptible to the slapstick charms of “Nunsense.” This has been one of the most wildly popular shows of the last 10 years, with numerous revivals both in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.
And this one promises to be a doozy. The director is Troy Nickerson, who has been responsible for some of the best of the area’s previous “Nunsense” productions.
The cast includes Bobbi Kotula (“Peter Pan”) as Sister Robert Anne, Judy Ann Moulton (“Annie Get Your Gun”) as Sister Mary Hubert, Karen Hartman as Sister Mary Amnesia, Natalie Ryder as Sister Mary Leo, and Ann Evans as the Mother Superior.
They’ll be telling the sad but somehow … hysterical … tale of how the Little Sisters of Hoboken accidentally kill off most of their sisters through food poisoning. Now, they need to put on a show to raise money for the burials.
The five surviving sisters embark on show business with enthusiasm. Maybe a little too much enthusiasm. Let’s put it this way: One of the nuns does a puppet show, featuring a puppet named Sister Mary Annette.
“Nunsense” opens tonight and continues Friday, Saturday, Sunday and July 30, 31 and Aug. 1. All shows are at 8 p.m. except the Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $22 for adults and $15 for students 18 and under. Tickets can be ordered by calling the theater at (208) 769-7780 or (800) 4CDA-TIX, or at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets, 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT.
The Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre is a professional summer stock theater. All shows are at the Schuler Auditorium at North Idaho College.