Nuns and comedy go together like Catholicism and guilt — you can’t have one without the other. And when all the right elements collide, you have yourself a God-fearing recipe for hilarity. Two local performing arts venues present nun-infused comedies this week. Ruth Eckerd Hall leads the habit march with the 25th annual national tour of Nunsense, starring Sally Struthers. The musical follows a group of hapless nuns as they attempt to raise enough money to bury 52 of their dead-by-way-of-food-poisoning sisters. Their plan? A series of greeting cards and a variety show that features dance routines and solo numbers by a circus performer-turned-nun, a nun-turned-novice-ballerina and other untapped talents. Across the bay, TBPAC opens Sister’s Christmas Catechism — The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold. The interactive one-nun show is described as “CSI goes to Bethlehem,” its star a teacher nun who reveals the origin of nativity sets, offers analysis of various Christmas carols and directs the audience through a living nativity, all while attempting to find the answer to an important unsolved mystery: “We know where the myrrh went and how the frankincense was used, but who’s the culprit who made off with the gold coins and left Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus in that lousy stable without any chance to upgrade to a suite?” Nunsense, Sun., Nov. 30, 2 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $30 and $35, 727-791-7400, rutheckerdhall.com; and Sister’s Christmas Catechism, Dec. 2-21, 7:30 p.m., Wed.-Fri., 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., with a 7:30 p.m. performance Tues., Dec. 2, Jaeb Theater-Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, downtown Tampa, $31.50, 813-229-7827.
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2008.
