If you never thought you’d see a bunch of nuns go crazy and sing, dance and tell vaudeville jokes, well grab hold of your rosary beads because Nunsense is taking Harrisburg by storm. Nunsense is the new musical opening at Harrisburg Community Theater and it’s a rip-roaring good time. It seems that Sister Julia Child of God has served up a batch of botulism stew at the Little Sisters of Hoboken convent, thus reducing its members from seventy-one to only nineteen in one fell swoop of the ladle. The surviving sisters have managed to scrape together enough money to bury their dead. Except, that is, for the four dead nuns currently residing in the convent’s freezer (cunningly posed as if they were playing bridge in case the health inspector should drop by). So, in an effort to raise the money to bury those four frozen nunsicles, the Little Sisters of Hoboken are putting on a show at the local high school and we’re all invited.

One of the truly special things about Nunsense is its rapport and interaction with the audience. Answers and helpful advice are solicited from the spectators, drawing them into the warm and goofy spell of this charming show. But, don’t worry, if you don’t want to participate, you don’t have to (yes, I can hear the collective sigh of relief from you wallflowers in the back). There’s something in Nunsense for everyone since the songs are catchy, the voices are good, the staging interesting and the choreography even includes a nun kickline (something probably outside all our experiences).

The cast consists of five talented women led by the Mother Superior played by Diane Hetes. Jody Brinley gives an endearing and charming portrayal of Sister Mary Amnesia who, when a crucifix falls on her head, loses her memory. Terry Croteau portrays a convincing Novice Mistress Sister Hubert who, as second in charge, has more ideas about how the show should be run than may be good for her. Sister Robert Anne, the convent’s chauffeur, is played by the energetic Betsy Holman while the cast is rounded out by the sweet, ballet-dancing novice Sister Leo played by Becca Eckman. Rich Askey, a familiar face at HCT, is the Musical Director for this show while Patrice Price has lent her talents as choreographer.

Tom Hostetter, HCT’s Artistic Director, spared me a few moments from his busy schedule to talk about the show. He’s pleased with the progress and foresees no major problems for the run. He did, however, say they had a very difficult casting session. It wasn’t, however, because of a dearth of talented people for once, but because they had so many talented ladies audition for the show. Laughingly, he said it’s a problem they could wish they had all the time, considering some of the difficulty they’ve had in the past with finding the right people for roles. Tom did say that they went with a non-traditional casting of the Mother Superior and Sister Hubert. Usually, the Mother Superior is cast as an older Irish woman and Sister Hubert is cast as an African-American. In HCT’s production, Terry Croteau, who is African-American, is playing the Mother Superior. This necessitated changing the big gospel number at the end of the show, which is written for Sister Hubert to the Mother Superior. Tom simply felt the dynamics between the cast members worked the best with the more unusual casting and that the song is best sung by the person who can give it that true gospel flair.

Iiiittt’sss Bbbbaaaccckkk!!!!! Yes, folks, once again, The Sound of Music is being performed in our area, this time at The Oyster Mill Playhouse on Country Club Road, in Camp Hill. This classical piece is one of the world’s most beloved musicals and really needs no introduction or explanation. The singing Von Trapps and the postulant turned governess Maria are cultural icons thanks not only to the musical, but to the movie. Even I, though I prefer the more recent works, went on The Sound of Music tour while I was in Europe ages ago (I didn’t go willingly, but I did go).

This particular production has a cast of over thirty, which is very large for a theater the size of Oyster Mill. Robert Thomas, the director, stated that the show has had its ups and downs (they lost their musical director right after auditions to a scheduling conflict and have been rehearsing without one ever since), but he feels confident they will pull through. Robert states that the cast has been a huge help in volunteering for other parts of the production, not just the on-stage work. The costumes alone for the show probably total over one hundred. Some of them are even being shipped in from Wisconsin from Robert’s old high school, where he played Max in his senior year. Robert stated that this show really is the epitome of "what community theater is all about" because of the helpful attitudes of the cast and their willingness to pitch in wherever needed.

Oyster Mill’s cast is headed off by Paula Biddle, who plays the effervescent Maria and Bob Steenstra who is this production’s Captain Von Trapp. The children are played by Peter Kurie, Missy Bergman, Kelly Steenstra, Mark Reeves, Lindsay Manck, Courtney Bowers, Lorah Ansil, and Adam Hetrick. Rick Graybill plays Max. The rest of the cast would be too numerous to name, but they should all be commended for their hard work and dedication to this monumental undertaking.