STAGE REVIEW : Sisters Carry Out Their Orders With ‘Nunsense’

Aptly titled, “Nunsense,” now playing at the La Mirada Theatre, is a frothy comedy revue very loosely configured around a silly premise.

When a convent chef, Julia, child of God, concocts a poisonous vichyssoise, the only sisters left alive are those fortunate few who were off playing bingo with the Maryknolls. Due to the Reverend Mother’s poorly timed purchase of a VCR, a shortage of burial funds has relegated four of the deceased sisters temporarily to the freezer. The audience finds itself at a fund-raising talent show set in the auditorium of Mt. St. Helen’s School, proceeds from which will send those four “blue nuns” to their heavenly rest. And the sooner the better, because one never knows when the health inspector may come around.

Led by Jo Anne Worley as the Reverend Mother, the surviving sisters include a streetwise Brooklynite, Sister Mary Robert Ann (Jeanne Smith), a sweet lost soul, Sister Mary Amnesia (Nancy Hillner), an ex-ballerina novice, Sister Mary Leo, (Merilee Magnuson), and the wry, long-suffering second-in-command, Sister Mary Hubert (Mary Gillis.) There’s a lot of talent in the ensemble, and, although the show is a workout, the ladies deliver just about everything the script has to offer, and sometimes more.

The setup puts the audience in the show as Catholic-school boosters, and there is lighthearted interplay between the patrons and the sisters, who require appropriate Catholic-school responses, award prizes and do some recruiting. Although the show, under the direction of author Dan Goggin, has a military precision, there’s room for ad-libs, to the general delight of the audience.

Worley in particular relies upon the personality factor to achieve her laughs. She doesn’t bother herself too much with the slim reality of the story, pleasing her fans with her signature comedy gestures, including the rubbery mouth moves that have been a staple of her style since she was a regular on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” more than two decades ago. Wearing blackout eye makeup, Worley is hardly the embodiment of anyone’s idea of a Reverend Mother, but she belts her songs with a gusto that cannot disappoint those who have come expressly to see her.

The other ladies, though, carry the show. Gillis’ wonderful prune face and roly-poly gait combine deliciously with her dry sense of humor and her muttered criticisms of the Mother Superior. Smith, who has a beautiful and powerful voice, gives her character an emotional resonance that goes beyond the slight script and does much to keep the premise of the show alive. Hillner, with her lovely lyric soprano, endears herself as a nun who can’t remember who she is--or much of anything else, for that matter. She stops the show with her puppet number, billed as a duet between Sister Mary Amnesia and “Sister Mary Annette.” Wide-eyed Magnuson, who also choreographed the 20 numbers, sings well and dances gracefully, contributing especially to the hilarity in the Dying Nun Ballet.

While the musicianship is accomplished, the amplification is poorly balanced and too loud. Harmonies are distorted, and the orchestrations are plowed under by the assault of sheer volume, although the decibels do not disguise the fact that Worley drops out of the choral numbers from time to time. ‘NUNSENSE’

A La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts presentation of Dan Goggin’s musical comedy. Artistic director: Scott Rogers. With Jo Anne Worley, Mary Gillis, Nancy Hillner, Merilee Magnuson, and Jeanne Smith. Musical director: Dennis Castellano. Choreography: Merilee Magnuson. Scenic design: Joanne Trunick McMaster. Lighting design: Raun Yankovich. Costumes by Kit McCall. Performances tonight through Saturday at 2:30 and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. At La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Tickets $20 to $24. (714) 994-9801 or (213) 944-6310.