The Chicago Tribune - 1/25/06

-Chris Jones


Capsule Review

‘Nunsensations’ sends sisters to Vegas Strip


You can accuse Danny Goggin, the creator of “Nunsense” of many sins—including the furthering of more convoluted habit gags than there are priests in Vatican City. But false advertising is not one of his peccadilloes.

You can hardly complain when you get a cheerful but tacky show featuring nuns dressed up as poker chips, nuns in feather boas, nuns spinning a huge slot machine, and a plot that revolves around nuns winning and losing money. About the only Vegas icon missing is the topless show. Even Goggin’s nuns have their limits.

Goggin is a skilled composer who can write a funny song in just about any style you want. You’re wondering why the nuns just don’t head to Sin City for real. The cast is not made up of jobbed-in locals but by a traveling first team of sisters. Directed by the author, they are stellar comic performers. And they easily conform to Goggin’s long-standing rule that they look and feel like nuns. Goggin has never liked anything in bad taste. And this family-friendly show is no exception. Heavens, it’s as if vaudeville never died.