Charles Busch in "The Devine Sister" Off Broadway

[Guest DuchessIvanaKizznhugg]

Charles Busch in "The Divine Sister" Off Broadway

 

The review by Robert Feldberg at northjersey.com suggests this is a rip-roarin' time.

Does any one have tickets or plans to see?

 

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae139/DuchessIvanaKizznhugg/Humour/CharlesBusch.jpgWhen Charles Busch is on his game, no one generates more laughs per minute. And that means that at "The Divine Sister," one of his funniest shows in years, you'll hear 90 minutes of non-stop chuckles, chortles, whoops and howls.

As both playwright and female impersonator, Busch has always been at his best spoofing movie genres, going back to such early classics as "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" and "Psycho Beach Party."

In "The Divine Sister," which opened Wednesday night at the Soho Playhouse, he seems to incorporate every nun movie ever made, while also giving a nod to "The Da Vinci Code" – it seems Jesus had a sister, Joyce, whose remains are buried in Pennsylvania.

Busch portrays the Mother Superior of St. Veronica's, a convent and school in Pittsburgh where dark secrets are rampant.

A former hotshot girl reporter, the Mother Superior likes to sing a happy tune, accompanying herself on the guitar. Titled "La La La," the song recounts the fate of martyred nuns. ("St. Eunice was nailed to a pine door, St. Blandina was munched by a wild boar.")

Her past returns in the form of an ex-boyfriend (Jonathan Walker), now employed by a movie studio, who wants to make a film about Agnes (Amy Rutberg), a postulant who sees holy visions (most recently, the face of St. Clare in an underwear stain).

The convent's nuns include the Teutonic and mysterious Sister Walburga (Alison Fraser), who wears black gloves and has just arrived from the Mother House in Berlin, and Sister Acacius (Julie Halston), the school's athletic director, who knows things she hopes never to reveal.

There's also a wealthy Jewish woman (Jennifer Van Dyck) with a mansion the Mother Superior hopes she'll donate for a new convent and school; an elderly cleaning woman (Fraser) who provides a hilarious sight gag that I won't give away; and a young male student (Van Dyck) with a dilemma: He wants badly to befriend the school's star athlete. ("I like the pretty way his hair falls across his forehead.")

Under direction by Carl Andress that perfectly captures Busch's antic spirit, all the play's strands – which include not one, but two illegitimate children placed in orphanages in the distant past, and a violent gag reflex passed down from mother to daughter – come together, more or less.

But the greatest pleasure is in the individual scenes: the stream of jokes and gags and the bravura acting, which is over the top but always under dramatic control.

Busch is a master of the exaggerated take and baleful stare, and he's terrifically supported here, especially by Fraser, known mostly for her musical performances, who proves a delightful comic in two very different roles, and Halston, a long-time Busch collaborator, giving an acting lesson in how to silently convey extreme sexual frustration.

"The Divine Sister" – which is actually quite respectful of religious faith – provides about as much fun as you can have in a theater. When they talk about a laugh riot, this is it.

 

Sounds like a fun evening!

[edjames]

Yes, a terrific glowing review from Ben Brantley in the NYTimes and word of mouth are all saying this show is hilarious and worth seeing.

 

ED

[justaguy]

Do you know how long

 

the show is going to run?

[edjames]

It's an open-ended run. It may transition to a larger theater sometime in the future if the box office is good.

 

http://www.playbill.com/events/event_detail/20833-Divine-Sister-The-at-SoHo-Playhouse

 

ED

[justaguy]

Thanks for the link. I might be able to go in a couple of weeks.

[Guest DuchessIvanaKizznhugg]

I bet it will be a hoot on Halloween.

[justaguy]

Thanks Duchess--I hadn't thought of that. Charles Busch on Halloween? The mind boggles.

[justaguy]

The house was packed and ready to laugh. There were moments and several good one liners, but overall I found it disappointing. Bush went for one too many plot twists. Alison Fraser as Sister Walburga was the highlight for me.

[Doe Be Doe]

I saw this a long while back in its run in the East Village. Funny, yes. But maybe I've just overdosed on Busch over the last few years.

[justaguy]

I don't think your funny bone was off. I just don't think it was Busch at his best. From what I could tell by the reactions of the crowd leaving the playhouse, most folks felt the same way. Disappointing.

[foxy]

I've seen several Charles Busch plays in the past and the most they ever made me do was smile. I don't ever remember laughing. I guess it's just me but I always find his plays sort of flat. I'm glad he's been successful but I always walk out feeling kinda disappointed. I'll pass on this one. I had enough nuns in 8 years of Catholic school to last me a lifetime. None of the nuns were ever funny to me.

[justaguy]

If you found Vampires flat, this one might even leave you yawning. It did get me up to NYC, though, so all was not lost.