What a Bunch of Nunsense!

Hey ya'll,
It's Grace Swanson here, to give you a little inside scoop about Gallery Theater's upcoming production of Dan Goggin's Nunsense. I'm just thrilled to be involved in this production and I'd like to share with you out there in the World Wide Web just what The Little Sister's of Hoboken are cooking up for their audience.

In case you haven't heard about this show, let me start by giving you a little background info. The original production of Nunsense opened Off-Broadway in 1985 and continued for 3,672 performances, making it the 2nd-longest running Off-Broadway production in history. The show has continued to wow audiences the world over, including a production on the West End. The show has become somewhat of a series with 6 sequels and various incarnations. Surprisingly, the idea for the production actually came from greeting cards that featured Nuns with witty one-liners. In that same spirit of comedy, the show was born.

The story centers around 5 nuns, Sister Mary Leo, Sister Robert Anne, Sister Mary Amnesia, Sister Mary Hubert, and The Reverend Mother (Sister Mary Regina), who are putting on a benefit show to raise money for a rather strange cause. It seems their cook, Sister Julia "child of God," served up a bad batch of vichyssoise soup, causing 52 of the 71 sisters to die instantly of botulism. The remaining sisters returned to the convent, after a bingo night, to find 52 dead sisters. With not enough money to bury the last 4 sisters, they had to be put in the freezer and now they must bury them before the Jersey Board of Health discovers their indiscretion. The resulting benefit is a riotous combination of cabaret, comedy, and Catholicism!

Gallery's production is being directed by Faye Pitman Trupka. Faye hails from Salem and has been very involved in productions out at Pentacle Theatre. Although this is Faye's first experience with Gallery, she is not new to directing or even to Nunsense. She recently directed And Then There Were None, and Forever Plaid, just to name two newer shows AND... you guessed it, Nunsense and Nunsense II: The Second Coming. She has not only directed the show many times, but has also been in it. Reverend Mother has been her favorite role to date. I think that Faye has a special place in her heart for the show, just ask her about it, she's very passionate. It has been quite the pleasure working with someone with so much insight on the show and so much love for the characters. By the way, while I'm at it, I should tell you something cool about Faye, she has a great sense of humor and she LOVES nun jokes. Another “ habit,” is that she has a rather large collection of Nuns, some of which you’ll see in the lobby. If you happen to see her,share any good nun jokes you may have.

Well that's all for now, but keep an eye out cause I'll be back with a production update and more stories about Nunsense! This is going to be a fabulous production and a really entertaining evening for all, so go pick up some tickets for the whole family! While you’re at it, you should check out Proof which opens January 25 in the Arena Theater. For ticket information on both shows visit our web site at www.gallerytheater.org