Capital Playhouse brings in the sisters for holiday laughs

Funny nuns are nothing new, either in pop culture or at Capital Playhouse, where “Nunsense” is a longtime favorite.

It’s become almost a habit for fictional sisters to do things that the ones who really taught in Catholic elementary schools would never do.

In “Nuncrackers,” opening tonight, the good sisters attempt to put on a holiday TV special that includes a version of the “Nutcracker,” karaoke and stand-up comedy — and would you believe that one of them does burlesque?

No, didn’t think so, and you’d be right. The nuns remain well-wrapped in their habits, showing almost no skin.

But one of them is played by Lauren O’Neill of Olympia’s Tush Burlesque.

“That, to me, is versatility,” said O’Neill, who also is the playhouse’s new managing director. “I’ve played a lot of men. I’ve played a lot of grotesque people. There are facets of all of us.

She laughed. “I of course prefer to explore glamour to garbage. But I strive to challenge myself.”

O’Neill’s character, Sister Robert Anne, is a streetwise nun from Brooklyn — the same character played in “Nunsense” by Heidi Fredericks, who is directing the show this time around.

“Lauren is truly brilliant, and she plays it in a way that is much different than the way I played it,” Fredericks said. “That’s a good thing.”

“This is definitely right up my alley — a big, broad character,” O’Neill said.

In fact, each of the nuns has a very strong personality, and in their attempts to put on the TV show, they encounter the conflicts and obstacles common to situation comedy.

With a show that is so character driven, the director’s job is easy, Fredericks said. “You don’t have to give a lot of direction,” she said. “The actors come to the table with so much.

“Really, as a director in a show like this, you just want to establish kind of a camaraderie among the actors, and the jokes and everything flow from that camaraderie and sense of community.”

The “Nunsense” shows are pretty much a stream of jokes and audience interaction, and like the original, “Nuncrackers” starts the fun before audience members take their seats.

“This time, more than usual, we have an extensive preshow,” Fredericks said. “If you come to see it, come early. Definitely the show begins the second you walk in the door.”