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Salem’s ‘Meshuggah-Nuns’: super-funny, lighthearted
By STEPHANIE OTTEY
SALEM
Four nuns and one Jewish actor are performing on a cruise ship together. No punch line here, just the premise for “Meshuggah-Nuns,” which opened on the Salem Community Theatre stage Friday.
There are, however, plenty of other jokes to enjoy in Dan Goggin’s “Meshuggah-Nuns,” the fifth installment in his “Nunsense” series.
One-liners, two-liners and pies in the face add up to make “Meshuggah-Nuns” a laugh-out-loud kind of show. Simply put, if you can’t laugh at “Meshuggah-Nuns,” there might be something wrong with you.
The “Nunsense” series began its rise to popularity in the ’80s, when the four little Sisters of Hoboken were thrown into a talent show-type benefit for their convent.
They caught the bug and have performed in a variety of variety shows since.
In “Meshuggah-Nuns,” the Sisters take their act on a “Faiths of All Nations World Cruise” ship. When the ship’s scheduled performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” is canceled due to a castwide seasickness, the Sisters team up with Howard Liszt, the one remaining healthy and Jewish actor, to write and produce their own religiously themed musical extravaganza.
“Meshuggah-Nuns” is their final product.
Vicki Rossi, Julie Benner, Kari Lankford and Connie Baer portray the goofy nuns and are responsible for much of the success of the humor in the show. These four ladies have an infectiously fun camaraderie on stage that makes it easy for the audience to believe they’ve been traveling the world performing together.
Rossi is seriously funny (pun intended) as the stern leader Sister Mary Regina. She suffers from a quiet microphone for the first few songs and is hard to hear, but once the simple problem is fixed, she’s unstoppable.
Rossi engages the humanness of her Mother Reverend role with lines such as “I still have my hourglass figure; it’s just that somebody added 90 minutes!” so that she’s respectable and approachable at the same time.
Lankford brings the right balance of holy wisdom and street smarts to Sister Robert Anne and proves to have some major singing chops as well.
She joins with John Zamarelli in a captivating duet “A Love Like This” that leaves the audience wanting to see and hear much more.
Lankford’s performance could persuade any theater to tackle “Cabaret Class” — the one-woman “Nunsense” show starring Sister Robert Anne (hint hint).
Baer is a delightful Sister Amnesia. She engages the audience with her “Magic Moments” and continues to entertain with her silly misunderstandings.
When Baer is on stage, it’s hard to take your eyes off her.
The aforementioned Zamarelli is the added touch that brings a masculine contrast to the show. While his religion stimulates plenty of humorous banter, Zamarelli’s voice and physical agility on stage are much more remarkable.
Ironically, “Meshuggah-Nuns” is replacing the real “Fiddler on the Roof” in SCT’s 2009-10 season, but audience members won’t miss the dramatic musical.
With songs such as “Contrition,” “If I Were A Catholic” and “Fiddlerspiel,” the show could practically be called “Nun on the Roof.” This super-funny, lighthearted show is an absolute crowd-pleaser.
Director and choreographer Sarah Durham not only worked hard to build this hysterically fun show, but she also put her efforts into attaining a grant that has allowed the old theater to have a new roof and new walls.
The opening night of “Meshuggah-Nuns” was therefore more than just another show opening; it also was a celebration of the rebuilding of a theater and all of the hard work and time put in by dedicated volunteers.