Lucy Komisar
"The Divine Sister" is vintage Busch
satire about religion, culture, social mores – a critical
delight
"The Divine Sister."
Written by Charles Busch; directed by Carl Andress.
Soho Playhouse 15 Vandam Street, New York, NY.
212-352-3101; http://www.divinesisteronstage.com/.
Opened Sept 22, 2010; closes May 1, 2011.
Reviewed by Lucy Komisar March 26, 2011.
Charles Busch's very funny campy satire of Catholic nuns hits
all the bases, extending to a stereotypical Jewish philanthropist,
a "Da Vinci Code" style mystery with a German faux-nun
and a brown-robbed monk, and even a detour back to thirties
movies about diligent good-guy reporters.
 |
| Julie
Halson as Sister Acacius, Charles Busch as Mother Superior,
Jennifer Van Dyck as Mrs. Levinson. Photo by David Rodgers. |
You know when you see most Busch oeuvres that
they will be over the top. ("The Allergist's Wife"
was an exception.) So suspend belief here, don't' look for high
art, and you will enjoy every minute. Thanks in equal measure
to director Carl Andress who knows how to play with fantasy.
A school run by Mother Superior (perfectly channeled by Busch)
is in financial troubles. Who else to turn to but Margaret Levinson
(the excellent Jennifer Van Dyck), a philanthropic Philadelphia
Jew? But she is an atheist! She thinks God is a fairy tale.
Van Dyck is rigidly "upper," snatched from the new
Wall Street Journal society pages which would appreciate her
love of designer clothes. On safari in Crete, she wore a Bill
Blass jacket. When there are remarks about her being born in
a stetl, she retorts that her father was presented at the British
court.
 |
| Alison
Frasesr as Sister Walburga and Jonathan Walker as Brother
Venerius. Photo by David Rodgers. |
In the background are goings-on involving Sister
Walburga (Alison Fraser, wonderfully stereotypical) and Brother
Venerius (Jonathan Walker), another mysterious German. (Aren't
they always?)
And there is also the young postulate Agnes (wide-eyed Amy Rutberg)
who lays on hands and makes medical miracles and also belts
out a pretty good soprano. She has visions inspired by the urine
on a pair of underpants she has obtained, and her hands bleed
from stigmata, though that turns out to be the juice of crushed
cherries.
Into this weird collection comes Jeremy (Walker, who steps out
of the era) a former reporter now working for a film company
that wants to sign young miracle-making Agnes.
 |
| Jonathan Walker as Jeremy and Charles
Busch as Mother Superior. Photo by David Rodgers. |
But the plot thickens. It seems that Sister Acacius
(the tough Jule Halston), a Brooklyn-accented nun, and Jeremy
were once reporters together. Mother Superior will deal with
that.
I loved this wonderful over-the-top camp, with lines like, "We
are living in a time of great social change. We have to stop
it!" Of course, the Messiah was a woman, and the ensemble
cast presides elegantly over such tongue-in-cheek revelations.
This play joins the cannon of Charles Busch's hysterically funny
satires. Definitely worth a trip to Soho.
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