Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...The Little Sisters of Hoboken, led by Cory Goodrich’s Reverend Mother and featuring Sherriese Hamilton as Sister Mary Hubert and Aurora Boe as Sister Mary Leo, focus on their audience, as a good nun does, and there are a few sops to the 21st century added, included a gag about Pope Leo’s joining the internet’s “six-seven” nonsense and even a sly reference to the immortality of Tony DeSantis, the founder of the Drury Lane feast; it was good to hear the old man’s name again on the stage he built."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Nuns! How many musicals and films have been made with the focus on nuns? If you Google it, you will have pages and pages to go through. When it comes to musicals featuring nuns or about nuns, there are three of note: “The Sound of Music”, “Sister Act” and last, but not least, “Nunsense”, now on stage at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook. While “Nunsense” is billed as Musical Comedy, with a book, music and lyrics by Dan Coggin, I think of it as more of a revue with a story, albeit a very weak one, but the show is great fun, even if you are Jewish. Luckily, my co-host and good buddy is a devout Catholic, so I am able to get any notes that may have been side jokes over my head."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...NUNSENSE is definitely going to be hit with every Catholic theatergoer, and especially anyone who has attended a Catholic school. The humor in Dan Goggin’s script has been updated a bit, but the musical remains as funny and filled with pious puns and humorous homilies as ever. I suspect that today’s audiences will find this spiritually uplifting, Ecclesiastically-based musical comedy as much fun as audiences did over 40 years ago. And that’s the true test of time for a piece of theatre. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that a gifted director has guided this production that features five incredibly talented actors who can raise the roof of the theatre with their handsome, Heavenly voices."
Buzz Center Stage
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The premise is funny, albeit morbid. After an unfortunate mishap, 52 members of the Little Sisters of Hoboken die from tainted soup prepared by Sister Julia, Child of God. With limited resources, the surviving nuns can only cover the funeral expenses of some of their sisters - leaving the remaining four bodies in their convent freezer, awaiting burial. How can they solve this problem? Well, stage a variety show, obviously! After all, while these women are nuns, they all wanted a moment in the spotlight."
PicksInSix
- Highly Recommended
"...Five nuns from the Little Sisters of Hoboken have taken the stage at Drury Lane Theatre to sing and dance and hopefully raise enough money to give some of their fellow sisters a proper burial. You see, these sisters died from botulism and will be stuck in the freezer if the nuns’ variety show fundraiser fails. This production, however, has absolutely nothing to worry about. What talent and what fun!"
Splash Magazine
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The show’s central conceit—a group of nuns staging a fundraiser after a bizarre convent catastrophe—still has comic potential. Unfortunately, much of the material relies on broad gags, predictable setups, and punchlines that can be seen coming from several pews away. Rather than building genuine comic momentum, the script repeatedly settles for easy laughs that rarely arrive. A good farce can be delightful, but bad farce feels forced."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...A blast from the past-iche hits Drury Lane Theatre this summer in “Nunsense,” a vaudeville-style musical revue written for the Baby Boomer generation that premiered in 1985. One of the longest-running Off-Broadway productions and the basis of several sequels and numerous restagings, this show-within-a-show features five passionate nuns who sing, dance and joke their way to salvation, putting on a fund-raising variety show to pay off their debts. Dark humor and silly quips in equal amount are the milieu that frames the standout performances by the Little Sisters of Hoboken."
