Holy Cross Sucks!

Off-Broadway Goes High School

By Rachel Sokol

HOLY CROSS SUCKS!, currently playing at the Ars Nova theatre,  is one unique theatrical show which, in the spirit of Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, that highlights the teen years. Call them the best years of your life, call them the worst years of your life, no matter how you see it, high school was definitely filled with, characters. In Holy Cross Sucks! multi-talented actor/comedian Rob Nash plays 30 different characters at a time—both male and female--even without an intermission. His portrayal of each character is so acute your almost forget that a male is voicing a snooty 16 year-old girl. Oh, even better—the show takes place in the 80s, the mecca of awful clothes, awful slang and awesome music. Holy Cross Sucks! is like watching an even faster version of, "Who's Line is It Anyway?," except just one person plays all the roles.

Nash, who wrote the show, plays everyone from 'the cool teacher' to 'the punk,' 'the fat-kid,' 'the virgin,' 'the slut' and even the annoying parents who enrolled their kids at Holy Cross, a fictitious Catholic high-school in Texas. From the first day of class right through graduation day, we follow each character through those crazy high school days with sympathy and humor. We watch them flirt, fall in love, take road-trips, hide secrets and support each other--combined with whimsical 80s music and references.

The highlights of the show are the scenes when Nash launches into dialogues between the three unstrung heroes: Johnny the punk, George the loser, and Ben, the homosexual. Not only is this show one of those-blink-and-you-miss-what-was-said types, but Nash's ability to perform as 30 characters in 90 minutes is so impressive and clever, it's impossible to not chuckle and be awed at the same time. The show is directed by Tony Award-nominee Jeff Calhoun. HOLY CROSS SUCKS! Runs thru September 30 at Ars Nova (