Theater: Late Night Catechism

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Late Night Catechism is a hilarious comedy by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan. The play is divided into two acts. Late Night Catechism introduces you to Sister. Sister is here to brush up your religious doctrine in order to become a godparent. She is also here because "Father Murphy didn't want to miss his poker night," and Sister is going to teach this class her way tonight.

It really doesn't matter if you're a Catholic school alumnus, a practicing Catholic or a non-Catholic. Sister has something for all of you. The set is a typical Catholic school classroom, pictures of Christ on the cross, the Pope, a blackboard with the names of some saints written on it. Selections from The Sound of Music and other nun-related music play throughout. Sister walks in and asks the audience to "simmer down". Sister then explains that this is an adult Catechism class and quizzes the audience on Catholic trivia, she also hands out glow-in-the-dark rosaries and acts of contrition for the correct responses.

Sister pulls out all the Catholic cliches. She goes through the four stages of the afterlife, comparing Purgatory to being grounded and calling Limbo "the nursery of Heaven". She shows the audience the little stool that she made from the rulers that she broke on her students. She pines for the good old days. She remembers the children in her Catholic school classes, and the unfortunate children who did not get to go to Catholic school, "the Jewish kids", she says with pity, and "Publics" whose parents didn't love them enough to send them to Catholic school.

If anyone in the audience breaks the rules that she has stated out, they get undue attention from Sister!
Some examples are:
- Some people who arrived late were asked to stand in front of the room and answer the question "what time do you think the 8 o clock class starts"
- A young lady in the front row who wore a very short skirt and a low-cut blouse was given tissues to cover the exposed areas and told "Honey, even Mary Magdalene wouldn't have chosen that outfit!"
- A cute older couple who sat too close together were admonished to "Leave room for the Holy Spirit!"

The second act consists mostly of question-and-answer. This is where the audience get clarifications on issues in the Catholic religion that have been puzzling them. While each performance is unique and different (because of audience interaction), Sister's answers are always on the nose.

Enjoy this humorous play. It is a rage and has been cracking up audiences the world over with its wit and performances. Contact your on line ticket vendor and get the tickets.