TOM TITUS:Hepburn, Monroe reincarnated glow in ‘Nun’

hbi-titus05TextO2286DA8titus w/ artTHEATER REVIEW

Take 10 of the most famous movie divas of all time — all now conveniently relocated to that big dressing room in the sky — and involve them in a plot borrowed liberally from Agatha Christie and smear the entire project with layers of camp and you have the latest production from the Huntington Beach Playhouse.

”...And Then There Was Nun” is a murder mystery played strictly for laughs, one that will appeal most fervently to the unreconstructed movie buff who will instantly pick up on the pungent but ancient references in the dialogue. And the evening is full of them.

Imagine all these luminaries gathered under one roof. Then imagine that they’re all nuns, and that a deranged mother superior is knocking them off nun by nun. That’s the concept writers Bruce W. Gilray and Richard T. Witter bring into play, and it’s riotously, if not always sharply, executed by director Robert Rotenberry’s enthusiastic cast.

Even the most casual movie fan will recognize the inspiration for these characters. There are Sisters Hattie (McDaniel), Vivien (Leigh), Joan (Crawford), Bette (Davis), Tallulah (Bankhead), Gloria (Swanson), Mae (West), Katharine (Hepburn), Marilyn (Monroe) and Judy (Garland, with Toto too).

Presiding over the murderous shenanigans is an ominous Sister Alfred, enacted by Michael Ross, who drops a plethora of Hitchcockian references into his brief introduction. This sets the stage for the creative carnage based freely on Christie’s “Ten Little Indians.”

All the semi-stars gleefully channel the personas and mannerisms of their respective legends, but the actress accomplishing this most impressively is Karen Merrill, who captures the vocal patterns — tremors and all — of Katharine Hepburn. Her repeated attempts to relate her “Philadelphia story” are soundly rebuffed by her peers.

Kip Hogan, white-faced as a Bette Davis clone, illustrates whatever happened to Baby Jane as she pushes a snippy and demanding Sister Joan (Dawn Vasco) around in a wheelchair. These two also come perilously close to their inspirations, as does Laura Kreyche, whose Sister Judy is still treading that yellow brick road.

The most “dramatic” enactment comes from Oriana Nicole Tavoularis as a fervent Sister Vivien, particularly appealing in her Scarlett O’Hara “I’ll never go hungry again” moment. Krysta Mayo keeps her in line as the tough-talking Sister Hattie.

Making her stage debut, the voluptuous Sandy Lindenberg shines as Sister Marilyn, occasionally recreating her “Seven Year Itch” subway grating scene. Cory Watkins is a hoot as the raunchy Sister Mae, while Julie Ellis portrays a booze-fueled Sister Tallulah with an edgy relish.

The most outrageous of the reincarnated characters is Michael Latsch’s Sister Gloria, a campy lunatic who’s constantly ready for his/her close-up. Latsch is a true devotee of this play, appearing in his seventh production of it, although his first in this assignment.

Andrew Otero’s intricate setting — a mansion on Grauman’s Chinese Island — and the costumes, also by Otero, enrich this spoof-laden show immensely. Timing remains a slight problem, especially in the early going, as the cast attempts to judge when the heavy laughs will come, resulting in a few “dead spots.”

If you enjoyed the skits on the old Carol Burnett Show, you’ll appreciate “...And Then There Was Nun,” making its Orange County premiere in Huntington Beach.