Nunsense

Director - Alicia Birder
Where - Webb Theatre at St. Norbert College, DePere
Tickets - Reserved Seating $29.00 and $26.00
Contact - 403-3950 or 1-800-SNC-BOXX (1-800-762-2699)

Performance dates: June 13 through June 27, 2002

This long-running off-Broadway musical hit is the story of the Little Sisters of Hoboken (affectionately known as The Little Hobos) who have a very serious problem. Their well-intentioned convent chef, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 members of the order as they contracted botulism upon sampling her vichyssoise. Forty-eight sisters have been properly buried, but there are no funds to bury the rest because the Mother Superior spent the money to buy a Nintendo for the convent. The deceased sisters have been stored in the deep freeze until the funds can be raised and the city health inspector is, unfortunately, eginning to get nosy. The five remaining sisters, spared only because they had gone to another parish to play bingo and missed the fatal dinner, decide to stage a benefit to raise money to bury the four blue nuns. Their variety show is held on the set of the Mount St. Helen's School's recent production of Grease and contains rousing performances by Sister Mary Amnesia and her puppet, Sister Mary Annette, and by Sister Mary Leo (as in leotard) who dances the Dying Nun Ballet, and is generously sprinkled with other delightful numbers.

The Order of the Little Sisters of Hoboken was founded in the seventh century by Saint Wilfred, a Bishop of England. He established the first convent and school known as the Wilfred Academy. His motto was We don't teach beauty - we radiate it! Many years later a small group of pioneering sisters set out for America to establish a motherhouse in Cleveland. But they got off the plane in Newark by mistake. The order was found by the Newark Airport Police and the new motherhouse was established in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was at that time that the Order of St. Wilfred elected to change the name to the little Sisters of Hoboken and they have been affectionately known as the Little Hobos ever since. It was from this convent that Sister Mary Regina, Sister Mary Hubert and Sister Robert Anne set sail for the Mediterranean to establish their leper colony. Today the order has both nuns and brothers as members - all doing various good works in the Diocese of Newark. They also operate Mount Saint Helen's School in Hoboken.