The Divine Sister, a divine comedy

Raucus laughter from your inner rebellious eighth grader will be the result of going to see The Divine Sister.

Naughty, bawdy and more fun than a barrel full of gay nuns, The Divine Sister is one huge hearty laugh after another. It opened the other night at The Avenue Theatre with a decidedly successful bash to the funny bone. Following in the tradition started last season with the critically acclaimed Die, Mommie, Die, this opus is going be hard to beat as far as outrageous campy hilarious bad taste.

This time it’s the women of the cloth movies that are the target of playwright Charles Busch. The maestro of howlingly funny camp, Nick Sugar, has directed both productions. Both were led by the queen of camp himself, Chris Whyde. This time around Whyde plays the Mother Superior with the sunny disposition only slightly veiling her bigoted sinful self. Whether sending up the queens of the silver screen or the nuns of the sullied soul, Whyde delivers comic genius of the flawless variety.

Laura Jo Trexler plays the innocent young postulant with the low IQ and the propensity for seeing God in every cracker. She’s the one who discovers the face of a saint in a highly unusual place. A place where the aura doesn’t shine. Rhonda Brown’s Sister Walburga could be compared to the stiff-backed, tight-lipped, tight-assed Frau Brucher in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.

Ms. Brown is a formidable comic in her own right, and we are happy to see the return of her sardonic spin on religion. The last time she cracked us up in this way was in Curious Theatre’s End Days, several seasons back. What a treat to see McPherson Horle back on the Denver stage again. This actor’s Sister Acacius is enormously funny.

As Brother Venerius, Josh Hartwell does a superb job portraying the underbelly of Christian charity.

Trina Magness turns in a performance of her usual professional brilliance as Mrs. Levinson, a Jewish lady with a philanthropic bent who is subjected to a not so slightly veiled bigotry at the hands of the sisters of Saint Veronica’s Convent even when they are seeking a large donation.

Tina Anderson’s scenic design is thoroughly well done, and well, just plain immaculate. Seth Alison’s lighting design is radiantly celestial. John Rivera’s sound design superb. Kevin Copenhaver created the hilarious haberdashery and the nasty habits.

Run … and then genuflect … to see it!

Not to be missed.

The Divine Sister plays at The Avenue Theatre through July 30.