"Nunsense A-Men!" will play for one weekend only at the Ponca Playhouse Feb. 12, 13 and 14 and follows a fictitious order of merry nuns, the "Little Sisters of Hoboken," as they put on a fund-raising show. This production is not part of the Playhouse's regular season and is an actual fund-raiser production for the Playhouse to purchase lighting equipment for their new black box performance space.

Nunsense premiered in 1986, where it won four Outer Critics' Circle Awards, including Best Off-Broadway Musical. It transferred to the John Barrymore Theatre on 42nd Street, where it ran for over 10 years, becoming the second longest-running off-Broadway musical of all time. Having played in theaters all over the world, men began telling "Nunsense" author Dan Coggin that they wanted their chance to play the nun roles so the show was reworked and "Nunsense A-Men!" was born.

The setting of "Nunsense A-Men!" is the resulting fund-raising show put on by Reverend Mother and four of the sisters, all with their own special talents. The participants include the Reverend Mother who was once a tightrope walker; the novice Sister Mary Leo, who dons her toe shoes to dance "The Dying Nun" ballet; Brooklyn-born Sister Robert Anne who entertains with her own brand of "habit humor"; gospel-singing Mistress of Novices Sister Mary Hubert, who brings down the house with "Holier Than Thou"; and the lovable Sister Mary Amnesia, who showed up on the convent doorstep one day unable to remember her real name, only that a crucifix had fallen on her head. The evening is packed with music, dancing, jokes, an audience quiz and comic surprises.

The Playhouse production features veteran actors Stephen Long as Sister Mary Leo, John Maddox as Sister Hubert, David Carson as Sister Robert Anne, Ron Davis as Sister Mary Amnesia and Arkansas City's John Dalton as the Reverend Mother.

Andrew Stewart is the musical direction. Dalton also serves as the staging director and Teri Daniels is the stage manager. Connie Van Ausdall is the show's accompanist.

Tickets are $15. For reservations and information, call the Ponca Playhouse at 765-5360. The Ponca Playhouse is located at 301 South First Street.