SUN CITY – Who doesn’t like a little “nunsense” in their life now and then? So long as it’s fun, bold, and makes you laugh until you cry, there’s no harm. And in some special cases, it may even be better to make a habit of it.
Nunsense director Jim Williams coaches cast members Carol Finkle (left) and Marie Sieker through a scene at a recent rehearsal. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
Which audiences might do at The Theatre Company of Sun City’s upcoming production of Dan Goggin’s sensation Nunsense, a hysterical and highly witty musical farce that you’ll want to experience again and again. Or at least until the show finishes its four-day run in Drendel Ballroom at 7 p.m. on April 7, 8, and 9 and at 1:30 p.m. on April 10.
Presented by: The Theatre Company of Sun City
Showtimes: 7 p.m. April 7, 8, 9 and 1:30 p.m. April 10
Where: Drendel Ballroom
Nunsense Ticket Info
On sale: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, March 11
Where: Drendel Hall Breakout Room
On sale: 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, March 15
Where: Prairie Lodge Hallway
Price: $15 Adults, $10 Children 12 and under
More info: Call 847-515-8545 or 847-515-1430
Five Sisters of Hoboken, a one-time missionary, host a variety show to raise money to pay for the last of the burials of their fellow Sisters, who were accidentally poisoned and killed by another Sister of Hoboken.
“This is a musical comedy,” said Nunsense Producer Linda Davis of Neighborhood 8. “It’s got more one-liners and jokes than any other show we’ve done before.”
Davis also described the show as highly interactive with the audience, as the Nunsense audience is the audience the Sisters of Hoboken are performing their variety show for.
“A lot of the show is done to the audience, with the audience,” Davis said. “The audience actually becomes part of the show.”
Which, Peter Davis, Linda’s husband and Nunsense Musical Director, said adds a challenge to the production.
“You’re crossing that third wall in the theatre, and you’re actually making contact with the audience,” he said. “That’s far different for a performer than what they’re used to. It takes a certain personality and that was taken into account when we cast the parts.”
Nunsense “leading ladies” (left to right) Marie Sieker, Gail Patterson, Deb DeMarco, Carol Finckle, and Diane Scott rehearse the show’s opening scenes at a recent rehearsal in Meadow View Lodge. These Sisters of Hoboken comprise almost the entire cast and have the challenge of bringing this sensational hit to life in Sun City. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
Opposed to the majority of their other productions, The Theatre Company of Sun City chose Nunsense due to its small cast, which consists predominantly of the five Sisters and a few extra characters, making it the smallest production the theatre company has produced in Sun City.
But that doesn’t make it the easiest.
“It’s a much more intensive show [for the actors],” said Peter Davis. “The five people performing in the show have as much to learn as if they’re doing three shows in any other kind of show. They have more songs to learn, more lines to learn, and they’re on stage a lot more.”
With many theatre club members still in warmer climates for the winter, Nunsense’s small cast presented a perfect platform for the theatre club’s spring show to operate, said Linda Davis.
“We were trying to look for a small-cast show that would be a funny show … that would be something the audience would love,” Linda Davis said.
And if you attended Catholic school, Linda Davis said, it might just bring back “a lot of memories.”
But you don’t have to be Catholic, she continued, to enjoy Nunsense, because its comedy will touch all. And if it doesn’t, well, that’s just nonsense.
