Nunsense Opens March 7

by Rich Merritt

ACT I of Benton County is currently in rehearsal for Nunsense, a comedyand musical by Dan Goggin, scheduled to open at the Palace Theatre on March 7, 2008, our second Main Stage production of the current season, which bears the theme "Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much."  The production is sponsored by Clingman Pharmacy, Jon and Julie Clingman and the Vinton Eagle.

The production runs Fridays and Saturdays,  March 7, 8, 14, and 15 at 7:00 pm and Sundays, March 9 and 16 at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students and seniors.

Nunsense tells the tale of an unfortunate convent cooking accident that causes most of the order of the Little Sisters of Hoboken to die of botulism. Not having enough money to bury the last four sisters (who are temporarily being stored in the freezer), the remaining nuns stage a variety show to raise money.  The production brings back three of the actresses who starred in Cemetery Club, ACT I’s hit play of 2007: Linda Merritt, Bunny Feller Fritch and Jill g. Lockard-Bopp.  Linda Merritt plays Sister Robert Anne, a tough streetwise nun from New York City who joined the convent after growing up in Brooklyn, NY, She was a tough street kid, got into a lot of trouble, and was sent to the St. Clare’s School for the Deplorable. Linda is the only member of the cast who actually attended Catholic schools.  Bunny Feller Fritch plays Sister Mary Hubert, second in command at the convent. She’s the nun who has to make sure everybody obeys the rules, but she’ll kick up her heels at the least provocation. Sister Mary Amnesia, played by Jill g. Lockard-Bopp, lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head, so everything is new and wonderful to her. She is a picture of innocence, with a strange sensor of humor.

The three ex-Cemetery actresses are joined by Rachel Kramer and Diane Maxwell.  Rachel Kramer plays Sister Mary Leo, who had been a professional dancer before joining the convent, and is now a novice (nun-in-training). Diane Maxwell plays Sister Mary Regina, the Reverend Mother who tries to hold this rag-tag group of nuns together. She tries to convince everyone that she is strict, but all the nuns know that her bark is worse than her bite.  This play explores the friendship and competition among the sisters, accompanied by comedy and upbeat, rocking music. Although the sisters make fun of their own lives and situations, it is a heartwarming play that never makes fun of religion. Instead, the play is definitely “Habit Forming.”

Linda Merritt, a Cedar Rapids bankruptcy attorney, has appeared on the ACT I stage in The Cemetery Club, 110 in the Shade, Lend Me A Tenor, The Music Man, and Lost In Yonkers.  She has also performed in plays and musicals at the Cedar Falls Community Theatre, Waterloo Community Playhouse, Anamosa’s Starlighters II Theatre, Iowa City Community Theatre, and Theatre Cedar Rapids. Linda attended 12 years of Catholic schools in Memphis, Tennessee, so she is well acquainted with nuns.

Jill g. Lockard-Bopp is an experienced cast member. She was a theatre major in college, and has directed and starred in two dozen productions at ACT I, UNI and Catharsis Theatre Group. Her most recent roles for ACT I were in The Cemetery Club,  Lend Me A Tenor, The Music Man, Blithe Spirit, and The Girls In 509, and she directed 110 In The Shade, The Cat and the Canary, The Rainmaker, and Mornings at Seven.

Bunny Feller Fritch, a retired teacher, has been involved with ACT I for 13 years, appearing in 11 plays, starting with the female version of The Odd Couple in 1993.  Her most recent plays include The Cemetery Club,  110 in the Shade, Lend Me A Tenor, The Music Man, You Can’t Take It With You, The Sound of Music, The Book of Murder, and It Runs in the Family.

Rachel Kramer is a self-employed care-giver who has appeared in The Music Man, Lend Me A Tenor, 110 in the Shade, and Moon Over Buffalo for ACT I. Rachel will be competing in her third Millie Lewis Actors, Models and Talent Competition in Orlando, Florida in July.

Diane Maxwell has appeared in Moon Over Buffalo, 110 in the Shade, Blithe Spirit, and You Can’t Take It With You for ACT I; in Rehearsal for Murder, See How They Run and Harvey at the Cedar Falls Community Theater; and in Blithe Spirit for the Waterloo Community Playhouse. Diane is a self-employed Professional Storyteller known as “Brighid, Keeper of Tales,” a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and a Geocacher (you might need to look those up on the Internet).

The Director is Sue Freet, who has previously directed The Cemetery Club for ACT I.  Anthony Bopp is Assistant Director, Sheila Monson and Nikki Luchauer are the Music Directors, and Joan Cooling Noeller is the choreographer.