‘Nunsense II’ a hit with this Valley theatergoer

The house was packed. Nuns were running up the aisles with their eccentricities and glee. The audience laughed and clapped along, high on the adventure. In our laps lay Bingo cards, and in the back of every person’s mind, a grasshopper was saying “you’re going to win something tonight.”

A live show of skits, songs and audience participation — in the vein of “A Prairie Home Companion” — “Nunsense II” is a circus of crazy, devout nuns, presided over by the enigmatic ringmaster Mother Superior (Patty Taylor), closely seconded by the sometimes-overbearing Sister Mary Hubert (played by professional clown Hillary Saffran).

Full of pop culture satire and not-so-subtle innuendo (which naturally goes over the heads of the innocent nuns and young kids present), this show is the sort of entertainment I hope for whenever I expect a few laughs. At times, it’s almost convincing enough to seem like improv, and a particular crack at Sarah Palin makes Garry Forrester’s adaptation of this play hit home in the friendliest, most fitting way it can. I went to be entertained, and from the first minute, I was part of the show, along with every other person in the audience.

Tabitha Bailar’s (winner of last year’s “Alaska’s Got Talent”) voice lends credibility to the ballet-dancing novice nun Sister Mary Leo and shame to the sometimes-censoring Mother Superior, who always shows up at the most inopportune moments — to become a punch line or to save the audience from some unplanned skit from one of her madcap nuns.

Not to be outdone by the performances, the set itself is a playful work of art; Mount Fuji in the background of a corporation-sponsored Japanese convent. Go see this barrel of monkeys before it’s over.

“Nunsense II” runs through Jan. 30 at the Valley Performing Arts Machetanz Theatre in Wasilla. Call 373-0195 for tickets.

Sean Talbot is a student at University of Alaska Anchorage and Mat-Su Community College.