The Divine Sister
Written by Charles Busch, Directed by Larry Coen, Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco, Costume Design by Charles Schoonmaker, Lighting Design by Daniel H. Jentzen, Original Music/Sound Design by Arshan Gailus; Katie Ailinger, Production Stage Manager
CAST (in order of appearance): Sasha Castroverde (Agnes), Kathy St. George (Sister Walburga/Mrs. MacDuffie), Paula Plum (Sister Acacius aka Lil), Jeffery Roberson aka Varla Jean Merman (Mother Superior aka Susan), Ellen Colton (MrS. Levinson/Timothy), Christopher Michael Brophy (Jeremy/Brother Venerius)
Performances through November 19 at SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Boston Center for the Arts; Box Office 617-933-8600 or www.BostonTheatreScene.com
If it is true that God helps those who help themselves, then the Almighty could be hanging around the wings of the Roberts Studio Theatre without much to do these days because Director Larry Coen and company have covered all the bases. Stellar comic cast? Check. Clever, efficient set? Check. Theatrical lighting and fabulously timed sound effects? Check. Evocative costume designs? Check. Without a doubt, Charles Busch's 2010 hit Off-Broadway comedy The Divine Sister climbs every mountain and searches high and low through film archives to pay homage to nuns as seen through the eyes of Hollywood. If there are any actors having more fun on a Boston stage than the six bringing this show to life, I don't know who or where they might be.
Following in the tradition of strong women playing Mother Superior, Varla Jean Merman (aka Jeffery Roberson) dons the habit and wimple as the leader of the financially challenged St. Veronica's convent school in 1966 Pittsburgh. She has her hands full trying to find an angel who will donate enough money to save the crumbling edifice, training the young postulant Agnes who hears voices and sees holy visions in dirty underwear, keeping an eye on a mysterious visiting Sister from Germany, and maintaining her own faith when a former lover resurfaces. There are seemingly dozens of other story threads that are eventually woven together and tied up neatly by the end of the play, not without first requiring the audience to willingly suspend disbelief, but paying off with reams of laughs.
Merman is only the first among equals as Boston favorites Paula Plum (Sister Acacius aka Lil) and Kathy St. George (Sister Walburga/Mrs. MacDuffie) give divine comic performances. They each adopt thick accents for their characterizations - Plum's whistle-toting Mistress of Novices and Wrestling Coach hails from Brooklyn, while St. George easily shifts from the Teutonic Sister Walburga to the rolling r's of the cleaning woman's Scottish brogue. Ellen Colton does double duty as the wealthy Jewess-Atheist MrS. Levinson, as well as a sensitive little boy being unsuccessfully coached by Mother Superior on how to swing a baseball bat. Christopher Michael Brophy has a flair for the melodramatic as the old flame and as a hooded hermit monk with an attraction to flames. Making her SpeakEasy Stage debut, Sasha Castroverde is totally believable as the innocent novice who thinks she has healing powers, and just as credible when, after some disturbing revelations, Agnes transforms into a hardened non-believer.
In addition to Busch's zippy writing, which can offend everyone and no one at the same time, and Coen's quick-paced direction, what really makes The Divine Sister click is the connection among the cast members, their impeccable comic timing, and a genuine sense of fun onstage. Pregnant pauses, sound cues purposely off by a beat, beatific facial expressions, and sight and sound gags (including a couple of characters who actually gag several times) just keep coming until the final miraculous twist in the story, followed by an 11 o'clock number sung by the full cast with the talented, multi-tasking Mother Superior on guitar, of course. Hallelujah!
