STAGE REVIEW Salem troupe gets back in habit with 'Nunsense'

By GARRY L. CLARK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
SALEM -- Salem Community Theatre's 25th season began Friday night with the irreverent, lighthearted comedy musical "Nunsense." The jokes and banter were passed around faster than an offering plate as the "Little Sisters of Hoboken" performed in an effort to "raise" money to "lower" some nuns.
The Little Sisters are in trouble. Things are falling apart worse than when they were running their leper colony on an island off southern France. Their cook, Sister Julia (Child of God), served some delicious, albeit tainted, vichyssoise to her fellow nuns recently and, to their dismay, 52 of them suddenly succumbed to botulism. The remaining sisters were spared because they happened to be out playing bingo. The sisters have been able to see to the burial of 48 of the unfortunate nuns, but four remain in need of burial and are being kept in the convent freezer until the necessary funds can be raised.
The Mother Superior, Sister Mary Regina, and her little band of surviving sisters are putting on a variety show as a benefit to help bury the four, but the health department also is hot on their habits, and Sister Julia isn't too keen about having them in her kitchen, either.
Madness, mirth and mayhem made for merriment everywhere as the nuns frolicked about the stage, leaving almost nothing sacred, but garnering hearty guffaws in the process.
Cast: Starring as Sister Mary Regina was Vicki Rossi, who did an outstanding job with comedic timing and delivery, though her singing voice definitely lacked some needed volume in order to hear some of the equally funny lyrics. Her character's accidental inhalation of a drug provided her most comically gratifying moments.
Linda K. McKim was in superb form as her second in command, Sister Mary Hubert, the mistress of novices. Her strong voice belted out the songs with robust energy and her comical antics were also excellent.
Performing as Sister Robert Anne, the streetwise nun, was the very talented Ellen Lettrich, whose portrayal could easily have been mistaken as Salem's answer to Rosie O'Donnell. Her "rap" performance and "Wicked Witch of the West" scenes were especially funny.
Also turning in a stellar performance was Kandace Cleland as Sister Mary Amnesia, who has suffered a conk on the head by a crucifix and doesn't remember who she is. According to Mother Superior she's "a few beads short of a rosary." Her tenuous grasp on reality provided much amusement throughout the evening, especially her puppet act. Cleland also serves as director of the production.
The part of Sister Mary Leo, a novice, was well-played by Suzanne Nicole Stratton, and rounding out the cast were Sue Vollmar as Sister Mary Gold, Nancy Wolf as Sister Mary Juana and P.J. Devine as Sister Mary Nate.
All gave good, solid performances evoking plenty of laughter. Musical highlights included "Nunsense is Habit-Forming," "The Biggest Ain't the Best," "Playing Second Fiddle," "Tackle That Temptation with a Time Step," "We've Got to Clean Out the Freezer," "Soup's On (The Dying Nun Ballet)," "I Could've Gone to Nashville," and "Holier Than Thou."
Crew: Working behind the scenes to make this an outstanding production were Jodine Pilmer, Judi Allio, Adam Roberts, Christina Seckman, Craig Snay, Dave Gentry, Karl Zeigler, Scott Sutton, Juli Merhaut, Alaina Felger, Caroline Saunders, Steven Jenkins, Debbie Pilmer, Jennifer Zamarelli, Gayle Lesch, Debbie Williams, Ruth Newman, Vanessa Board, Stella Berardi Pelliccioni and the Cleland family.