LATE NITE CATECHISM Celebrates 21st Year this Month

A Chicago original and international hit, LATE NITE CATECHISM turns 21 this month in the city where it all started.

Sister can now legally buy a drink, rent a car, and pop into a casino.

A special anniversary performance of LATE NITE CATECHISM will be held on Saturday, May 31, at 5 p.m. with Chicago actress Patricia Musker in the role of the fast talking nun.

A pre-show celebration starting at 4 p.m. will feature special guest Abbie Reese, author of Dedicated to God: An Oral History of Cloistered Nuns (Oxford University Press, 2014). The New Yorker raves about Reese's book: "That is another one of monasticism's surprises: where the world expects sorrow, the cloistered feel joy. Reese's attentiveness and patience allows that joy to reveal itself." In addition, Reese will be introducing a segment of a documentary she is developing in collaboration with the nuns from her book.

In the past 21 years, LATE NITE CATECHISM has gone through three popes, two cardinals, three presidents, two Chicago mayors, at lease nine Chicago area theaters, 20 actresses, and provided laughter to at least a million audience members on four continents.

In addition, LATE NITE CATECHISM has helped raise more than $2 million for the retirement funds of various orders of nuns.

So what else was happening in 1993 when LATE NITE CATECHISM opened?
* It was the year Prince changed his name to a symbol.
* The movie Jurassic Park opened.
* David Letterman left NBC for CBS.
* Bill Clinton had just been sworn in as the 42nd President.
* John Paul II was just a Pope, not a Saint yet.
* Boris Yeltsin was president of Russia.
* The Dow-Jones hit a record 3793.49.
* A gallon of gas was $1.16.

The role of Sister, the wise-cracking, lovable character of LATE NITE CATECHISM, was created in 1993 by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, both products of the Catholic school system. It premiered at Live Bait Theatre, then developed and morphed into one of the longest running comedies in not only Chicago, but in cities throughout the country.

Call it Carol Burnett meets Whoopi Goldberg. This interactive comedy is part catechism class, part stand-up routine. In the past 20 years, LATE NITE CATECHISM has been performed in almost every major U.S. city, plus has done successful stints in Australia, England, Ireland, Canada, and Malaysia.

Ruling her classroom with an iron fist, Sister teaches her students - who happen to be the audience - everything she knows about saints, sin, heaven and hell...while dolling out rewards and reprimands with lightning speed.

The show runs every weekend, Saturdays at 5 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted, Chicago. Tickets are $30, group discounts are available. For tickets, call 312.988.9000.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago, and to the Sisters of St. Joseph, TOSF, in Bartlett. Tickets for the May 31 anniversary show are $30.