Playing up Catholicism's comedic side
The topic in catechism class is the mortal sins committed by crooner Frank Sinatra. The nun we know as Sister lists them on the blackboard. ''He did it his way," she concludes, ''and now he's in hell."
Theater-goers in Lowell have been hearing this and other theological insights from Sister in ''Late Nite Catechism 2," a one-woman show at the Smith Baker Center in Lowell offering a comedic but respectful take on Catholicism. (The show runs through tomorrow; for ticket information, visit www.lowellauditorium.com.)
As the name implies, this play is a sequel. The premise of the original, co-written 13 years ago by lifelong Catholic Maripat Donovan, had Sister substitute-teaching a class for a priest on his poker night. Donovan, 50, had always been interested in the lives of the saints, a subject that, for some reason, struck her friends as worthy of a comedy show. In ''Catechism 2," she gets another chance to poke fond fun at her church while teaching a bit of Catholic theology.
Donovan spoke by phone this week from her home in Hollywood about the show. Excerpts follow:
Q: Why did ''Late Nite Catechism" need a sequel?
A: The first one talked about an overall view of cultural Catholicism and the lives of the saints. [In] this one, we're going to talk about how to get to heaven and avoid hell.
Q: You're still a Catholic?
A: I will be until the day I die. If you're going to believe in Jesus, wouldn't you want to belong to the religion that was founded by him when he was alive on earth, not a spinoff? Wouldn't you stick with the original? I would always go with AT&T myself.
Q: If you wanted to follow the original, shouldn't you be Jewish?
A: Except he [Jesus] founded a new religion. I don't deny our Jewish heritage. Sister likens it to show business: The Jewish faith is ''American Graffiti." The Catholic faith is ''Happy Days." All these other spinoff religions -- ''Joanie Loves Chachi."
Q: Has the clergy sex abuse scandal changed audience reaction to the show?
A: It does come up in the question-and-answer period. All the actresses for the most part say, ''Look, that's not a funny subject. We're not going to make jokes about that." We'll say this, though: ''It is an example of girls are good and boys are bad." I also say, ''Don't blame me. I don't have anything to do with that. Hey, my solution is to put the nuns in charge."
Q: What do you think about the church's denial of leadership roles to women?
A: It's part of society. Women get the raw end of the deal all the time, in society, in all societies, in life, because we can't shove as hard as men.
Q: Ever had Catholic show goers take offense at the material?
A: This is such a loving portrayal of religious sisters, and we are absolutely accurate in our Catholicism. The only time I ever had a [complaint] is when I had a catechism teacher in the house. We had an argument over the definition of the Immaculate Conception. Immaculate Conception refers to Mary's conception without original sin. She said that the Immaculate Conception was the virgin birth [of] Christ. But that was over a fact issue, not that I was being disrespectful.
Q: Where do you get your facts and research?
A: Sixteen years of Catholic education, plus 13 years of this intensive Catholic ministry. Plus my upbringing, where my mother discussed St. Thomas Aquinas at the dinner table. We said the rosary on our knees every night and went to Mass every single day. Writing the new show, I reviewed a lot of pamphlets and books about sin and confession and the examination of conscience.
Q: You've said people should not read the Bible.
A: A lot of people are Bible-thumpers. You don't need to know your Bible to be a Catholic. Over the thousands of years, [biblical books] have been edited and stuff has been put in and taken out. You can't count on that.
Q: Can audience members who aren't Catholic enjoy the show?
A: Absolutely. When you boil it down, it's about a really strict teacher who's really fun and funny.
Q: How do nuns in the audience react?
A: Nuns are my best audience. This is not ''Nunsense," where they portray sisters as so ignorant that they're unable to care for themselves. In the real world, not only do they care for themselves, they care for us.
Q: Are you giving up anything for Lent?
A: White bread.
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