NUNSENSE less than hysterical
If those who attended ‘NUNSENSE, the 20th ANNIVERSARY ALL-STAR TOUR’ were expecting a hysterically delightful repeat of the long running Hanna Theatre production of ‘LATE NITE CATECHISM,’ they must have been disappointed. The “play” is based on the ridiculous premise that Sister Julia Childs, the convent’s head cook, had accidentally poisoned most of the order’s nuns. Since there wasn’t enough money to bury all of the sisters, some of were placed in the freezer and we (the audience) were supposedly attending a fund-raiser to bury the remaining souls. Yeah, sure, okay, you get the point! Twenty-five years of stirring hasn’t improved the piece.
Most people, I assume, came to see the old time stars, rather than be enthralled by the goings-on. Well, even that was disappointing as Georgia Engel was off shooting an “Everybody Loves Raymond” episode and Mimi Hines was ill. That left Cleveland’s own, the delightful Kaye Ballard, the “I can still belt-out a song” Darlene Love, and “I was Miss America” Lee Meriwether to carry the load.
Capsule Judgement: It was a slightly entertaining evening. There were some laughs, there was some okay singing, and there was some presence of Ballard’s statement for the reason for the show…”We are here to prove that nuns are fun.” Okay, I’ll accept her word for it, but at $52.50 a ticket, there should have been more fun!
