“Nunsense,” which opens at The Barn Theater in Porterville next week, had one of the more unusual beginnings of any play – it began as a line of greeting cards.
Playwright Dan Goggin created a line of cards featuring actress Marilyn Farina dressed as a nun. When Farina took to making appearances in costume at card stores and the like to promote the card line, Goggin began writing material for her to use. This evolved into a 15-minute stage act called “The Nunsense Story,” which included many nuns, as well as monks. It ran for nearly 40 performances at the Duplex, a Greenwich Village club. From there, Goggin rewrote the piece as a full-length musical, eliminating the monks altogether and focusing instead on five nuns.
The Little Sisters of Hoboken are in a deadly bind. Sister Julia, Child of God, the chef, accidentally killed 52 nuns with her tainted vichyssoise soup. Luckily, 17 nuns were out playing bingo and were spared from the poisoned broth. Unfortunately, the surviving sisters only had funds to bury 48 of the 52 stiff sisters. So they’re holding the remaining four nuns in the freezer, hoping to raise enough money for the burials before the health inspector catches up with them.
Directed by Gordy Plaisted, “Nunsense” features Kim Day as Reverend Mother, Margeaux Boyd as Sister Hubert, Wendy Plaisted as Sister Amnesia, Denise Everhart as Sister Robert Ann, and Ginger Piersol as Sister Leo.
Evening performances are scheduled for August 22, 23, 29 and 30, and September 5 and 6. Sunday matinees will be August 24 and 31, and September 7. For tickets or more information, visit http://barntheater.porterville.com.