Theater Reviews—

‘Nunsense A-Men’ Is Great, Silly Fun At Downtown Cabaret

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT — You may have seen Nunsense. You may have seen its sequel, Nunsense II.

You may have even seen the country western version when the Little Sisters of Hoboken go to Nashville, or the Meshuggenah  version when they take on the entertainment responsibilities on a borscht belt cruise, or the Las Vegas version… oh well, you get the idea.

Now Nunsense creator Dan Goggin is once again putting his money where his mouth is, showing his support for Bridgeport’s Cabaret Theater by staging Nunsense A-Men, which is actually the original show performed by guys in drag (get it? A-“men”).

Happily the guys are truly talented song and dance comic performers, and the result is a totally enjoyable hoot. Catch it while it’s on the boards, which will be until March 12.

It’s the same story: the Convent of Mount Saint Helens is in trouble because there isn’t sufficient money to bury quite all of the 51 nuns who died from food poisoning when they ate Sister Julia’s vichyssoise. As a result, the remaining five sisters (who missed dinner that night because they were out playing Bingo) are holding a variety show in the school gym to raise enough cash to bury the four members of the order who are reposing in the convent freezer.

The thirty or so musical numbers and scenes allow  a chance for each of the five to do her signature routines: the routund and rather naïve Reverend Mother Mary Regina reminisces about her early life in her family’s tightrope act, and gets happily stoned on a substance confiscated from the girls’ locker room.

Stately Sister Mary Hubert, as mistress of the novices, tends to the younger nuns and chafes under Reverend Mother’s authority.

Spacey Sister Mary Amnesia (“nice house, nobody home”) forgets most everything, including who she is but is great with her alter ego nun puppet, “Sister Marie-Annette.”

Tough, wisecracking Sister Robert Anne plays tricks with her habit and  recalls her roots as a Canarsie delinquent who can still strip the convent car as fast as she can drive it.

Then there’s the little novice, Sister Mary Leo, who dreams of being a star ballerina.

Knowing that the sisters are all played by men — David Titus as Reverend Mother, Basil Rodericks as Sister Mary Hubert,  Danny Vaccaro as Robert Anne, Joe Ceriello as Mary Amnesia and Doan Mackenzie as Mary Leo — is all part of the fun, (especially when Mr Mackenzie, in toe shoes, pirouettes gracefully as a dying swan in “Soup’s On — Tthe Dying Nun Ballet”) but in their androgynous costume of wimple and scapular, it mostly doesn’t matter. It isn’t that they are female impersonators. They are just funny, with terrific voices.

By the end of one recent performance, as sister Mary Hubert led the cast in a rousing rendition of “Holier than Thou,” the entire audience was rocking and clapping in delight, and it seemed like everyone in the place was either glad they’d gone to Catholic school or sorry they never did.

Even on Super Bowl Sunday it was worth a trip down to Bridgeport, and definitely proves that DCT really deserves to stay in business for a long time.

(Performances are Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 5:30 and 8:30 pm, and Sunday at 5:30 pm.

Tickets are $10 to $30, with discounts for seniors, students and groups, and limited rush tickets available. Call 203-576-1636 for details and reservations.)