Review: NUNSENSE At SLO Repertory Theatre

"Nunsense," now playing at SLO Rep, delivers an evening of heavenly harmonies and gentle comedy to tempt even novice theater-goers. 

Prayer candles adorn the cabaret tables of SLO Rep's lobby, casting a heavenly glow, and inviting the audience into this fun-filled production. The cast of five nuns stand nearby, clad in their habits, eagerly ushering everyone in and handing out “hymnals” (show programs). The musical’s central conceit asks that the audience participate in the illusion that we are all attending a musical revue put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken Nunnery. The occasion is comically solemn; They need money because 52 members of their convent perished in a soup-related mass poisoning (botulism in the vichyssoise). 

Luckily, the most talented members of the order, all the “triple threats,” have been spared. We learn their stories through their virtuoso singing, dancing, and comic banter. "Nunsense" carries the flair of the time it was written, a cross between "The Golden Girls" and "A Chorus Line," adding the comic sensibility of the classic sitcom to the musical theater forms of "A Chorus Line." And if you like those shows, and I certainly do, then you’ll soak up the fun of "Nunsense." 

The direction brings out the uniqueness of each of the five nuns. Suzy Newman plays the sassy Sister Mary Hubert, a suffering second-in-command who chaffs under the authority of Mother Superior (Billy Breed). Everyone is hilarious. Katie Worle-Beck’s shifting facial expressions as the constantly adrift Sister Mary Amnesia could go on tour as their own play. 

These nuns can also dance. There’s a tightly choreographed tap dancing number that the nuns present to distract us from Mother Superior who unintentionally got very high. Sister Mary Leo (Natalie Mara) shares her dancing dream of ballet-dancing devotions on pointe. The songs are equally varied in style from Broadway sounds to Sister Amnesia’s country tune and the boogie-woogie swing of "The Drive-In," as sung by Sister Robert Anne (the charismatic Rachel Tietz) and Sister Amnesia. If you are looking for a friendly comedy, replete with catchy songs and dance, “Nunsense” fits the bill!