THEATER REVIEW / ‘NUNSENSE’ : Sisters’ Musical Revue Is Drawing the Faithful : The production’s cast members often rise above the material, which isn’t difficult to do.

There’s no accounting for taste, as the old saying has it, and one might add that there’s no accounting for what people might find funny. For solid proof of both contentions, witness the success of the musical revue “Nunsense,” which has been playing off-Broadway for more than seven years.

Life in the Roman Catholic Church provides much material for the theater, whether serious dramas like “Agnes of God” and “Mass Appeal” or comedies, among them “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All to You,” “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” (recently performed by the Plaza Players), and Dan Goggins’ “Nunsense,” the current production at the Ojai Art Center Theater.

While some observers might wonder why--critic and playwright Charles Marowitz wrote a stinging indictment in a recent issue of Theater Week of what he sees as the show’s lack of merit--the play’s appeal to the Catholic masses is undeniable. And the majority of last Friday’s opening-night audience was clearly enjoying itself throughout the two-hour show.

Here’s the premise: A smallish order, the Little Sisters of Hoboken, has been decimated by their chef, Sister Julia (Child of God), who inadvertently whipped up some poisonous vichyssoise. Most of the dead nuns have been buried, but--because there isn’t enough money in the order’s coffers to pay for all the funerals--a few corpses remain in the church’s freezer. The surviving nuns have arranged a fund-raiser to defrost and properly bury their former colleagues.

As Johnny Carson used to say, “buy the premise and you buy the bit.”

After the rather too-involved setup, “Nunsense” alternates between backstage preparation and the benefit performance itself.

Director Buzz Cuccia has assembled a cast that more often than not rises above the material. That, to be sure, isn’t exactly a taxing journey; still, the actresses bring considerable charm, character and singing talent to their roles.

The show is performed by five “nuns”: Reverend Mother Superior (Barbara Zeiher), Sister Robert Anne (Juli Cuccia), Sister Hubert (Debra Gaynor), novice Sister Leo (Sarah Seebirt) and Sister Amnesia (Marianne Ilges)--who doesn’t remember who she really is. Because she tends to mess things up, the rest of the sisters hope that Sister Amnesia turns out to be from another order.

Those, folks, are the jokes, along with thigh-slappers like the title of a proposed hygiene guide to be authored by one of the nuns: “A Catholic Girl’s Guide to Immaculate Conception.”

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If the show’s taste (or lack thereof) doesn’t concern you, the nature of the humor might: The sisters congratulate themselves for getting well into the show without making a penguin joke, and then make a penguin joke. One of the nuns works with a hand puppet, Sister Mary Annette. If you’ve never heard the phrase “Attila the Nun” before, and find it amusing, this might be your kind of show.

Goggin’s songs are somewhat more inventive than the dialogue, standouts including a clever, if rather arcane, tribute to actors who understudy the stars (did you know that Shirley MacLaine’s first break was as understudy for Carol Haney in “The Pajama Game”? Do you care?) and a rousing, gospelish finale, “Holier Than Thou.”

Instrumental accompaniment throughout is supplied with great enthusiasm by musical director/pianist Bobbi Lindstrom and percussionist Lavonne Theriault. Beverly Rose Gidlow is the choreographer; one thing about a parody talent show is that any clumsiness can be excused as part of the act.

Details

* WHAT: “Nunsense”

* WHEN: Friday and Saturday nights at 8; matinees at 2 on Oct. 31, Nov. 14 and 21 only.

* WHERE: Ojai Center for the Arts, 113 S. Montgomery St., Ojai.

* COST: $10 general admission; $8 for seniors, students and children under 12.

* FYI: For reservations or further information, call 646- 0117.