BWW Reviews: SISTER'S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM: MYSTERY OF THE MAGI'S GOLD is a Laugh Riot

Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan created a one-woman show called LATE NIGHT CATECHISM back in 1993 which was based on the pair's experiences growing up Catholic in Chicago and on parochial school stories they heard from their families and friends. The show holds the record for the longest running religious comedy in Chicago's history. Its success inspired them to write sequels, including SISTER'S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM: MYSTERY OF THE MAGI'S GOLD.

I had the pleasure of seeing LATE NIGHT CATECHISM with Maripat Donovan several years ago and was excited about seeing this new play which is part stand-up, part improv, part audience involvement and all hilarity with a friend of mine who was raised Catholic.

There are only a handful of actresses who get to play the sister and ours this evening was Kimberly Richards. Unfortunately, I am unable to relay any further information about the creative team for this particular production because, like the Magi's gold, the programs for the event were missing.

As Sister in The Long Center's production of SISTER'S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM, Richards converses with the audience asking and answering questions with such authority that you might wonder whether she is really a nun. She isn't. But she has been a circus aerialist (thank you, Google) and a dancer and I suspect that these skills may have helped prepare her for the dazzling feats of improvisation on display during the show.

In these one-woman shows, Sister teaches an 'adult catechism class' during which she singles out audience members to reprimand, grill, tease and reward. She makes audience members take out their gum. She fines latecomers a dollar. In this production, ten audience members were hauled up on stage and dressed in makeshift costumes (ostensibly from a forthcoming rummage sale) and placed in a nativity configuration so sister can solve the mystery of what happened to the Magi's gold CSI-style. As our teacher for the evening, Sister, points out, "We know where the frankincense ended up and what was done with the myrrh. But the mystery remains: who took the gold?!?" Sister turns her mission into an educational experience for her audience.

The money Sister collects goes to a very worthy cause. In 1997, Donovan learned that when Social Security was implemented, the Catholic Church had opted out for religious sisters. Because of this, the show began taking up a collection for retired nuns. In the past 11 years, the show and its sequels have collected and donated more than $2 million to help nuns across America.

SISTER'S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM: MYSTERY OF THE MAGI'S GOLD is a holiday treat for all, Catholic or otherwise. Next time it comes to town, get your tickets for the funniest class of your life.

SISTER'S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM: MYSTERY OF THE MAGI'S GOLD by Maripat Donovan.

Running time: Approximately Two Hours with one intermission

SISTER'S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM: MYSTERY OF THE MAGI'S GOLD, at The Long Center (701 West Riverside Drive, Austin, TX 78704) Dec. 26th - 27th, 2014.

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