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By Michael Hixon
1 NOV 2007 |
Stepping Out
Sister Act |
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| A Biblical mystery is uncovered in ‘Sister’s Christmas Catechism: “The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold,”’ opening next week at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse |
The Sister is back in Hermosa Beach and this time she's going to use her extensive forensic detective skills to uncover an age-old question. The frankincense and myrrh the three wise men, also known as Magi, brought as a gift to the newly born Jesus is accounted for. But what happened to the gold left behind for Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus?
Beginning 14 years ago with “Late Nite Catechism,” Maripat Donovan and a writing partner, Vicki Quade, brought audiences to the classroom for the comedic teachings of the Sister. Now for her third show, “Sister's Christmas Catechism: ‘The Mystery of the Magi's Gold,'” which was written with Marc Silvia and Jane Morris and opens next week at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse, it's another day of class but with a twist, a little “CSI: Bethlehem.”
“Remember when you were in school and it was the day of the Christmas party but you know you couldn't have a party all day, you had some class and then the party?” Donovan said. “The Sister's idea of the Christmas party is to have a living Nativity. She brings audience members out of the audience to represent the people who were at the Nativity, Mary and Joseph, the shepherd and the sheep and the ox and the ass and the three kings and the little drummer boy. She dresses them up in costumes to represent the individuals and she sets up her own living Nativity on the stage.”
Donovan added, “Then she tells the audience she has become a big fan of the show the ‘Forensic Files,' like ‘CSI' but reality. She watches it so much she considers herself an expert of forensics. She decides to solve an old Christmas mystery she's always been fascinated by and that is if the three kings brought the baby Jesus gold, why did they stay in the manger? Why didn't they go to a better facility? They could have got a room at the inn for sure. They could've upgraded to a suite for sure. But they didn't. Why? What happened to the gold? Sister induces that the gold must have been stolen at the Nativity so she makes it her business to solve the mystery.”
Donovan attended Catholic schools before enrolling at Loyola University in Chicago where she worked in the college theater department. She became proficient in building and designing sets so she developed her own construction company and renovated houses.
“I did theater at the same time and only when I left town with ‘Late Nite Catechism' and went to Boston did I finally stop contracting,” she said. “I just do it for myself now. I don't work for other people.”
“Late Nite Catechism” was born in the early 1990s out of Donovan's Catholic upbringing.
“In 1992 I was having a dinner party and I was telling them a story about one of the lives of the saints, I think it was St. Lawrence, and as we were talking about it someone said, ‘This is really funny. You should do something with this,'” she said. “So I thought I should. I have so much information, Catholic stuff. I called my friends at Live Bait Theater (Chicago) and asked them if they had a spot in the late night series and they did. I called some of my friends and asked if they wanted to work on it with me, and we kind of put it together, and it turned into ‘Late Nite Catechism.' We were supposed to run for six weeks, two performances a week, 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.”
“Late Nite Catechism” opened May 29, 1993, as a late night show but moved to the “main time” the next month. It has since grown to a worldwide success with productions not only across the United States, but also in Australia, Ireland, Canada and England. The success spawned a sequel “Late Nite Catechism II: Sometimes We Feel Guilty Because We Are Guilty,” which eventually led to “Sister's Christmas Catechism.”
Donovan commented on the success of “Late Nite Catechism” and why it continues to draw crowds across the country.
“It's a universal thing,” she said. “It's a memory play. It makes us think about things we haven't thought about in awhile. Makes us have an adult perspective on things maybe we only had a childhood perspective on before.”
While the first two “Late Nite Catechisms” are an interactive event, the new Christmas show takes it to another level with 11 audience members becoming part of the Nativity.
“You never know what's going to happen on stage,” she said. “It's a lot of fun. We encourage people to bring their cameras. Your mom might be the Virgin Mary so it could be a Christmas card for next year.”
“This show is more festive. There's a lot less chastising. It's the holiday though Sister threatens to cancel the party because somebody wrote ‘time to party' on the blackboard.'”
Even with the success of “Late Nite Catechism,” Donovan said she is the most proud of raising approximately $3 million over the years for retired nuns across the country.
“I love doing the Christmas show,” she said. “It's a lot of fun but its really about how much we collect for the nuns.”
“Sister's Christmas Catechism: ‘The Mystery of the Magi's Gold'” opens Tuesday, Nov. 6, with previews which are also on Nov. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. The regular schedule is Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. with closing night Sunday, Nov. 18. There will also be 2 p.m. matinees Nov. 11 and 18.
The Hermosa Beach Playhouse is located at Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.
For more information, call (310) 372-4477 or visit www.civiclightopera.com.
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