The Theatre Company of Sun City will bring laughter, music, and some audience participation to the theater with the upcoming production of Nunsense II.
The show features five Little Sisters of Hoboken, Catholic nuns who are bitten by the showbiz bug after putting on their first successful benefit revue. Itching to get back in the spotlight and thank their audience for their support, the sisters take to the stage yet again for a hilarious “thank you” show that goes haywire.
The Theatre Company of Sun City Presents: Nunsense II
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Dan Goggin
Drendel Ballroom
• April 16 & 17 – 6:30 p.m.
• April 18 – 3 p.m.
• April 19 – 1:30 p.m.
Ticket sales
• April 7, from 1-3 p.m. in the Cedar Room
• $25; cash or check
• For Thursday and Friday ticket info: (847) 515-8545.
• For Saturday and Sunday ticket info: (847) 515-1583.
Sun City resident Judy Scherer portrays Sister Mary Amnesia, who has lost her memory due to an unfortunate incident involving a cross falling on her head. Scherer says each of the five nuns in starring roles has her own distinct personality and foibles. The result is a rather chaotic and interactive performance with a lot of heart.
“It’s the funniest show I’ve ever been in,” says Scherer. “Each of us nuns are doing something we’ve never done before, but we’re doing it for this show. It’s a challenge for each of us, but we have so much fun.”
If the laughter in rehearsals is any indication, Scherer thinks audience members will leave with their sides aching from the hilarious jokes and songs contained in the show.
Jim Rice, who has done set design for the theater company since its inception in 2003, has been working on a special effect involving an electromagnet regulated by remote control. These are the types of challenges that Rice, a mechanical engineer, must puzzle out for each production. The true test will be when the set can be built and all props assembled about a week before showtime. To prepare, Rice studies the script as soon as he gets his hands on it, starts figuring out the set design on paper. Then, he gathers materials.
“They know me when I walk into Home Depot,” he laughs. “They can tell when we’re getting ready to do a show.”
Rice designed the set when the theater company performed the first Nunsense over a decade ago.
“This one is going to be just as funny, if not funnier,” he says. “Catholic people will get a lot out of the show, especially if they went to Catholic grade school or high school. It’ll hit ‘em right where it hurts!”
Scherer says Nunsense II will make perfect sense to those who previously saw the first Nunsense, but if they haven’t, she assures that things will be explained in the show to get the entire audience caught up.
“Here and there, the audience is part of the show,” says Scherer. “It incorporates the feeling of community, of being part of it. We want the audience to enjoy it as much as we’re enjoying putting it together.”
