Published: October 04, 2009 11:58 am      

OCP takes show on the road for dinner theater fundraiser

VIDOR — One of the Orange Community Players funniest productions of the year is hitting the road this week and traveling to an area church for a fundraising event.

The OCP production of “Nunsensations!” will travel to Vidor as the Ladies Alter Society of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church presents a dinner theater presentation of the hilarious story this Friday and Saturday.

Tickets are $30 each and must be purchased in advance by calling 409-769-8545 or 409-769-2865. The social begins at 6 p.m. with dinner being served at 6:30 p.m. The performance will start at 7:45 p.m. each night.

Della Madeley, president of the Vidor Chamber of Commerce and member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, said the Ladies Alter Society held a dinner theater event earlier this year and it was a great success.

“The OCP helped us in March by bringing their production of ‘Last of the Red Hot Lovers’ for our first ever dinner theater program,” Madeley said. “It was spectacular, so we thought we might try again.”

Madeley said the initial fundraiser in March was to help raise money for the church’s Knights of Columbus organization. This year the Ladies Alter Society hopes to raise enough funds to purchase cushions for the church pews and for kneelers.

“We would really like to make this an annual event,” Madeley added. “And it’s something we want to do for our entire community. It’s not just limited to our church members. It’s a great way for adults to spend an evening and it’s a casual dress-type of event.”

According to Jeff Hattman, director of “Nunsensations!” and a longtime member of the OCP, the cast was eager to perform this show once again.

“The last time we performed this was in April, but the cast was so excited about the opportunity to do it again once they found out the church had asked. They all said yes,” Hattman explained.

Hattman said some of the church parishioners had attended one of the April performances of “Nunsensations!” at the Playhouse and thought it would be a perfect fit for the church’s fundraiser.

“This is the first time for me to do an OCP show away from the Playhouse, and it has been a little extra work getting ready,” Hattman added. “But everyone has jumped right back in the swing of things and are really looking forward to it.”

According to www.nunsense.com, the adventure begins when a parishioner volunteers to donate $10,000 to the sisters’ school if they will perform in a club in Las Vegas, but Mother Superior is hesitant to accept. However, after being convinced by the other sisters that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” Reverend Mother agrees.

What follows is the most feather-filled, sequin-studded, fan dancing Nunsense show ever. Performing in “The Pump Room” at the Mystique Motor Lodge, the sisters experience “show-biz” like never before.

Madeley said the dinner theater event is being recommended for adults only and casual dress is welcome. Call 409-769-8545 or 409-769-2865 for tickets and get ready to laugh until your sides hurt. The deadline to purchase tickets is Tuesday.



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com