Melanie Holt (left) listens to Niki Corcoran during a rehearsal for "Nunsense" at Joplin Little Theatre. The play opens on Wednesday. Globe Photo/Ron Bull

A comedy results when five surviving nuns of potato-soup poisoning have to come up with a way to pay for the burials of their less lucky counterparts.

Joplin Little Theatre, First Street and Adams Avenue, will open its season with "Nunsense." It will be presented 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Oct. 1, and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 2.

Ann Lile plays The Reverend Mother who leads four others through amusing escapades as they try to stage a talent show to raise money to finance the funerals of the last four of the 52 nuns at Mount St. Helen's Catholic School, who died after eating some bad vichyssoise.

"What I find fun about it is that we see these five nuns -- people usually think of nuns as stoic and very reserved -- really kick up their heels," said Greg Green, who directs the play. "Nuns are real people who like to laugh and have fun as we all do."

People have asked if one has to be Catholic to appreciate the show.

"You don't have to be Catholic to get it," Green said. "There are some inside Catholic jokes, but overall it's universal enough for everybody."

He said that having only five cast members is unusual. "The show is so well-written, though, that these five fill the stage."

The characters, in addition to The Reverend Mother, are Sister Hubert, played by Lisa Olliges Green; forgetful Sister Amnesia, played by Melanie Holt; Sister Robert Ann played by Rhea Brown-Bagley; and Sister Leo, portrayed by Niki Corcoran.

Casting a production of "Nunsense," though there are only five characters, can be challenging.

"Four out of the five actresses had to be able to tap dance. One of those five had to be on pointe, in ballet shoes," Green said. "That's pretty specialized. Not everybody can do that. I felt very fortunate to find a cast of five who fulfilled the requirements."

It's a show that will keep the audience moving forward with jokes and songs, he said. "You don't have to sit and ponder about it. It's fast. It's fun."

He said that the production has been around for 25 years and is familiar to fans of musical theater.

"There are catchy numbers that you'll remember after leaving the theater," Green said.