Late Nite Catechism - 27 Shows Down, 73 to Go

 Its script is solid if not particularly memorable and the set up isn’t all that dramatic, but Late Nite Catechismis a fascinating sociological exercise. This long, long running one-woman show, birthed in Chicago (by my friend Katie’s landlord, hence our attendance last month) and still running strong years later, helps Catholic school survivors and the rest of us make light of a troubling, if occasionally charming, educational system.

 

When the lights go down, we’re all Sister’s pupils. We’re a self-selecting lot. At our performance, the Catholics outnumbered the “publics” around 2 to 1, and they were the most eager to please the ruler-toting nun… or at least the very convincing actress commanding the room. My friend Katie, more than a decade removed from her Confirmation, immediately reverted to the ace student, correcting our misconceptions about the Immaculate Conception (hint: it’s not about sex).  I, two decades removed from my Bar Mitzvah, was singled out for looking down my neighbor’s rather revealing blouse.

 

Once the novelty wears out, we learn about the canonization of Saints, the stages of the afterlife, and tidbits about church hierarchy. It’s a real education, which is to say, it ultimately feels loooong. But there’s plenty of humor, corny yet reassuring to the devout, lapsed and secular.

 

Catechism has spawned two other hits on the same stage, along this same premise: Put the Nuns in Charge and Sunday School Cinema. As long as the Catholic Church has a sense of humor, shows like these will do just fine.