BWW Reviews: Stay in School for LATE NITE CATECHISM!

I'll admit I had my reservations walking into the latest Omaha Community Playhouse production. How could a two hour, one woman show possible be interesting enough to hold the audience's attention? Not only that...the subject was Catholic schools. I am not even Catholic and I was afraid that I was going to be offput by a script filled with religious (and not so religious) jokes. I was pleasantly surprised!

LATE NITE CATECHISM featuring the fabulously funny Mary Zentmyer started off with "Sister" garbed in the traditional black and white habit entering the "classroom" and calling us, her "students," to attention with a clicker and absolute authority. This light-hearted spoof on growing up in Catholic schools, written by Maripat Donovan and Vicki Quade, leaves out nothing. Sister snaps up the young lady with the short skirt and tells her to cover her knees with Sister's hanky before she puts all the boys in temptation. She catches a student talking, promptly ushering her to the front of the classroom where she stands with her nose pressed against a drawn chalk ring on the black board. She sends a helper up to retrieve a ball cap from the head of a recalcitrant boy and places it in the mission box. Another student is called up front and seated on a forgiveness chair where she can contemplate the error of her ways in blurting out a bad word in class. Burts Bees lip balm is confiscated and placed in the mission box along with the ball cap. Everything and anything is fair game. Pay attention, students; this sister means business!

Sister, who has taught religion for over 50 years ("that's 6 popes"), explains how growing up in a Catholic school culture influences your whole life. "Girls are good, boys are bad." Along with the humor there are actual bits of Catholic catechism explained. Students from the audience stood up and recited segments of the catechism they had learned in their own Catholic schools with impressive recall. Those students received prizes handed out by Sister. (Ooh! Aah!) By the time class ended, I knew about some of the changes Vatican II made and what saints were deemed no longer saints. I also learned that some saints were sainted for sheer craziness! By the way, what is the difference between a venial and a mortal sin? "I lied to my grandmother" is a venial sin. "I killed my grandmother" is a mortal sin. But don't worry...even though you are learning, I promise you are laughing.

Zentmyer has played the role of Sister all over the US and off-Broadway. She is a master at keeping the ball rolling. She reacts to her students with quick wit and a warm sense of humor. You have to love her. It's a rule.

LATE NITE CATCHISM runs June 12-July 19. Enroll today.

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