Review: NUNSENSE At Music & Art Community Center

What's with our fascination with nuns? From Ingrid Bergman to Audrey Hepburn to Sally Field, they capture our attention. But those ladies have nothing on the cast of Nunsense playing at Music & Arts Community Center, 13411 Shire Lane, Fort Myers.

The five-woman cast brings on song, dance, and schtick at dizzying speed. The plot has the sisters of a convent in Hoboken putting on a variety show to raise money to bury nuns accidentally poisoned by the cook, Sister Julia Child of God. That show business reference is one of dozens. Blink and you will miss several. (I caught a throw away allusion to Leonora Nemetz that you probably had to be a native Pittsburgher, as I am, to get.) The show is quite interactive as the women mingle with the audience before and during the performance.

Each of the women has an extremely expressive face, but Whitney Grace as Sister Mary Hubert and Patrece Bloomfield as the Mother Superior are pros at physical comedy too.

All of the women's voices are outstanding, and each one has a chance to shine in a solo number. Natalie Brouwer as Sister Mary Amnesia shows off her operatic soprano voice and even takes a crack at puppetry. Bloomfield belts a number while wielding two fans a la Gypsy Rose Lee. Not to be outdone, Cara Chumbley as Robert Anne flings a red boa around when she gets her turn in the spotlight.

The women are equally adept at dance. All join in joyfilled kick lines and tap dance. Eliette Rogers as novice Sister Leo is a graceful wannabe ballerina.

Even if you're not Catholic, you will enjoy the antics of these frenetic performers.

Nunsense runs through April 29. For tickets, call 239.277.1700 or visit boxoffice@gulfcoastsymphony.org.

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