Curtain call

Mike Stewart has a case of the giggles.

And when Stewart, director of Lansing Civic Players’ “TheDivine Sister,” can’t get more than a few sentences out beforechuckling while talking about the new comedy that bows Thursday, itbodes well for a fun night in the theatre.

 “I picked up this show, I read it and I fell off the chair laughing,” Stewart said.  “The story being told is fluff, but so funny.”

“Sister” was written by Charles Busch, a Tony-winning playwright and female impersonator known for irreverent pop-culture-skewering shows like “Psycho Beach Party” and “Die! Mommy! Die!”  

Coming directly from an acclaimedoff-Broadway run, “Sister” is an off-the-cuff homage to Hollywoodportrayals of nuns in TV shows and films like “The Flying Nun,” “Agnesof God” and “The Sound of Music” and features its cast performing indrag —a hallmark of Busch’s work.

Paul Levandowski stars as the Mother Superior, whosequest to build a new school for her convent finds her combatingeverything from sexual hysteria among her nuns to an ex-suitor lookingto rekindle their relationship.

 “(Levandowski) actually got to talk to Busch about the character,” Stewart said.  “It’s a really hard role, but he’s doing really great.”

The cast includes Jessie Rummins, Sandy Van Lacker, SusanChmurynsky, Sarah Sonnenberg, Laura Croff Wheaton and Stewart himselfpulling double-duty as an “international nun hit woman.”

Stewart said the show is “on the naughty side, definitelyadult and very descriptive.” He urges audience members to leave thekids at home.

“The action is kind of non-stop,” he said. “There’s always something to see.  Expect to roll on the floor laughing.”

 DirectorLynn Lammers had no illusions that tackling a 9/11-themed show in theweeks surrounding the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks wouldbe easy.

“I knew this would be leading this crop of actors into the lion’s den,” she said of the production, which kicks off Thursday. 

"The Divine Sister"

Lansing Civic Players. 8 p.m. Saturday. Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road, East Lansing. $12. (517) 484-9115