Nunsense 3: The Jamboree

Although Nunsense--a musical that thrives on bad puns, double entendres, and mild jibes at the Catholic Church--flew beneath the radar screens of most critics, it has become a success, even a franchise, in regional theater. In this third outing (see reviews of Nunsense [VL-11/97] and Nunsense 2 [VL-1/01]) featuring the Little Sisters of Hoboken, Sister Amnesia--awakened from a coma--is determined to realize her dream of becoming a country-western singing star, a mission that allows for plenty of musical numbers, appropriately staged in front of a live audience at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Vicki Lawrence, formerly of The Carol Burnett Show, stars as Sister Amnesia, and The Golden Girls' Rue McClanahan appears via video inserts as Mother Superior. The singing and dancing is unmemorable, but performed with gusto, and while Lawrence's voice is a bit weak, her talk show background allows her to mingle and crack jokes with the appreciative studio audience. The weakest entry--in a narrative sense--of the series, this one might best be described as The Sound of Music meets Hee Haw, but the Nunsense phenomenon has a strong fan base and they're likely to enjoy this amiable send-up. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Rees)