It’ll Charm You If You Want It To: NUNSET BOULEVARD Opens in Munster

It's not a typo folks! This is not a review of anybody's production of "Sunset Boulevard," despite the vision mistakes of ALL of my friends when they asked me in writing where I was going. Instead, it's the seventh or eighth "Nunsense" musical (depending on whether or not you count one all-male show), that overwhelmingly popular and not-quite-as-critically-successful series of small-scale musicals by Dan Goggin, written over the last 25 years and featuring five characters in a series of wacky, real-time, semi-performance situations. 

No, you don't have to be Catholic to think these shows are entertaining, though it helps a tiny bit. It does help if you are a little older, maybe, a little less demanding and a lot more willing to be entertained by whatever happens to occur in whatever theater you've ended up in for the evening. This show, like "Messhugah-Nuns," "Nuncrackers" and all the rest of them, is neither rocket science nor pure poetry, but "Nunset Boulevard" is solid, old-school variety entertainment, heart-warming, light as a feather and done in Munster just about as well as it probably ever could be. This show debuted in Minneapolis only a year and a half ago, and Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana, is providing its Chicago area premiere. 

For those unfamiliar with the "Nunsense" universe and its backstory, suffice it to say that five Roman Catholic sisters (always in full, traditional habits) from the Little Sisters of Hoboken convent (though it's in New Jersey, I believe it's near Mount St. Helen's parish) discovered once upon a time that they were talented stage performers! This occurred by necessity, when they were forced to raise money for the emergency burial of the rest of the sisters of their convent, who had been accidentally poisoned by their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God. These plucky survivors are a funny, lovable, sentimental and wacky collection of ladies. There's the Reverend Mother (she's in charge, of course), Sister Robert Anne (kind of a manly type), Sister Hubert (an African-American nun, who for some reason always gets to sing rousing gospel numbers), Sister Leo (young, pretty and innocent) and Sister Amnesia (who got that way when a large crucifix once fell on her head). All this is laid out pretty clearly, pretty early on. And then the particulars of this episode of their lives unfurl. 

The conceit of this particular installment in the series is that the irrepressible Little Sisters of Hoboken have received the news that they have been invited to sing at the Hollywood Bowl. We are told that "they are thrilled at the prospect until they arrive and realize they are booked at the Hollywood Bowl-A-Rama instead. The comedy mounts when the nuns learn that a famous movie producer is across the street auditioning actresses for his new movie musical, 'NUNSET BOULEVARD: A Song from the Hart,' about the life of Dolores Hart, the famous movie star who became a nun." Yes, that part is true. Chicago native Dolores Hart starred in the legendary film, "Where the Boys Are" in 1960, two years after giving Elvis Presley his first onscreen kiss in "King Creole." In 1963 she became a cloistered Benedictine nun. 

And so, our five favorite sisters find themselves simultaneously performing their Hollywood Bowl act in a bowling alley (complete with public address system and noisy, well, bowling), and grappling (somewhat) with the possibilities that one or more of their number may leave the habit and the convent to star in a film about one of their sisterly heroes. In the midst of this, they hold audience-participation sequences (quizzes, frozen turkey bowling and the like), impersonate film actresses like Mae West, Jean Harlow and Ginger Rogers, and even perform a tribute to the camp classic "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," with one of them as Bette Davis and the other four (in wheelchairs) as Joan Crawford. There are 21 songs. There is a brief Gloria Swanson sequence. One of the nuns even appears briefly out of her habit (wow!), and for some reason there's a puppet character, too, named Sister Mary Annette. You get the idea. It's exactly as much fun as you think it's going to be! 

The director-choreographer of this production is Stacey Flaster, an imaginative former dancer who was perhaps chosen for this assignment for her female point of view and her familiarity with TATC audiences. Both serve her well, as the members of the sisterhood of the traveling sisters come across as authentic, warm and energetic old friends for Munster audiences. Stephen Carmody's scene design is expansive, realistic and just a touch showbizzy, ably assisted by the similar costumes of Brenda Winstead, lights of Denise Karczewski, sound of Barry G. Funderburg and props of Libby Fandrei. William Underwood keeps the musical director duties and his four-piece orchestra chugging along smoothing. 

And the actresses playing the familiar fivesome? They couldn't be more perfectly cast, I think. Alene Robertson, a much-traveled Miss Hannigan in "Annie" and a nine-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner, plays Reverend Mother with the same wisecracking and authoritative presence that she probably uses with her co-workers within Chicago's theater industry. She really peaked during her final solo, "There Was a Time." Tony Award nominee Felicia P, Fields ("The Color Purple") is funny and maternal and sassy as Hubert, leading "Don't Look Back" with polished aplomb. Mary Robin Roth has played Robert Anne in two of the series' previous installments, and she uses her brassy voice and emotional connectivity to sell the quiet moment "That Kid's Gonna Make It" as well as the show's opener, a clever send-up of "Cabaret" called "Welcome, Bienvenue." The role of Amnesia seemed a little underwritten to me, but Lauren Creel is hilarious and touching nonetheless. And as Leo, the nun with big dreams, Nicole Miller dances divinely and does a lovely job with her big ballad, "Where is the Rainbow?" 

If you've read this whole review, go see "Nunset Boulevard." It's not great, but it works, and clearly, you're interested! I had a good time, and if you're inclined toward this type of thing, you certainly will, too. It's not "Hamlet," but I wouldn't want just any suicidal Danish prince yakking at me for two-plus hours. These five particular Hoboken nuns can cavort in my presence far more frequently. And I laughed A LOT. A LOT. 

Performances of "Nunset Boulevard" are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m.; and select Thursday evening and Tuesday and Saturday matinees. Individual ticket prices range from $36 - $40.  4-Pack subscriptions are now available. Each 4-Pack subscription is good for one ticket to each of Theatre at the Center's remaining 2011 productions. To purchase season tickets and/or individual tickets call the Box Office at 219.836.3255 or Tickets.com at 800.511.1552.  Group discounts are available for groups of 11 or more and gift certificates, perfect for all special occasions, are also available by calling the Box Office at 219.836.3255.  For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.  

Photos (from top): Mary Robin Roth; Alene Robertson, Sister Mary Annette & Nicole Miller; Lauren Creel, Felicia Fields, Alene Robertson, Nicole Miller & Mary Robin Roth

 

 

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