It can be kind of strange to see what's passing through the area from other parts. Touring shows tend to be a kind of a strange mix of classics and highly commercial stuff. In a month that also features small New York touring productions of Cyrano and Shrew, a bigger stage downtown has a gentleman coming in to talk about Broadway in the format of a Broadway-style monologue AND Cindy Williams in a habit.
Yes, the highly experienced comic actress had spent a fair amount of time in the late '70s on a soundstage in Hollywood pretending to be in Milwaukee in the early '60s for the benefit of television. (That, of course, was the long-running sitcom Laverne And Shirley) She's actually fairly well known for this. But this woman has been a successful comic actress onstage as well and here she is in the inexplicably enduring phenomenon that is Nunsense.
Actually, the show in question is Nunset Boulevard. The performing nuns from the series get an invitation to perform at the Hollywood Bowl only to find out that it's not the landing strip of an outdoor performing space that everyone knows about but is, in fact, a bowling alley. Kind of a cute premise.
Cindy Williams was nice enough to take some time after a recent rehearsal to answer a few questions that I'd sent to her via email:
ME: You have had a long and distinguished career in comedy stretching back some 40 years. Does all of that comedy--do all of those punchlines blur together for you? Or do you find that there are distinct phases i your career that you've managed to carve out over the years?
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CINDY WILLIAMS: There are some phrases...one of my favorites was when Squiggy would say to Shirley, "He loved them baby teeth as if they was his own." And Shirley would always say, "Get out!!"
And then there was always the answer when someone said "trouble will come through that door" and the door opened with "Hello." We found a way to use that in our Nunset Boulevard show.
When I played Mrs. Tottendale, the daffy hostess, in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE on Broadway I loved these lines from one of my songs:
My dress, My dress, My fancy dress.
I don't know why I'm wearing it I must confess!
ME: This is your second time in the habit for a NUNSENSE show. How does appearing onstage as a nun affect your outlook on the world?
CINDY WILLIAMS: It makes me realize how blessed I am not to have to worry about doing my hair!
ME: I may be reading too much into this, but doesn't spending all that time playing Mother Superior have some effect on how you relate to Catholicism in general?
CINDY WILLIAMS: I'm constantly relating to Catholocism because I am Catholic. You may not know this but Catholocism is chock full of fun as practiced in "Nunsense Shows." When we have nuns in the audience they always laugh the loudest and clap the longest. Our show never makes fun of the Sisters. The Sisters make the fun for the audience.
ME: Your previous experience in NUNSENSE was a stationary thing at Meadow Brook Theatre. Here you're moving from stage to stage. How has the experience of being a touring stage nun been different from that of being a resident stage nun?
CINDY WILLIAMS : Ask me in a couple of months. We're playing 53 cities and we're just getting started!
Nunset Boulevard runs October 4th - 6th at the Schauer Arts and Activities Center in Hartford. For ticket reservations, call 262-670-0560 or visit Schauer Center online.