The Off-Broadway hit comedy Late Nite Catechism will be performed at the Cape May Convention Hall on Friday, July 27 at 8 p.m.
Late Nite Catechism, written by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, made its debut May 28, 1993 at the Live Bait Theatre in Chicago and since then has grossed over $100 million in box office receipts. It has been presented in over 410 cities around the world, has played six countries with over 3.5 million people in attendance. The show has raised over $4 million for retired Sisters and Catholic Organizations. There have been over 100 “Sister” presenting the eight shows now in the series
Late Nite Catechism is an uproarious piece of theater that takes audience members back – sometimes nostalgically, sometimes fearfully – to the children they once were. The irrepressible Sister teaches an adult catechism class to a roomful of “students” (the audience). Over the course of the play, Sister goes from benevolent instructor, rewarding the “students” for correct answers with glow-in-the-dark rosaries and laminated saint cards, to authoritative drill sergeant. These abrupt mood swings are bound to strike a resonant chord with everyone who survived the ups and downs of going to school, with an omniscient authoritarian at the helm.
The Catholic Register (Toronto) said, “The show appeals to Catholics and non-Catholics alike since ‘Sister’ clearly explains religious references in lighthearted ways while maintaining a serious tone that isn’t too preachy and far from being saccharine.” The New York Times in 1996 declared “Late Nite Catechism speaks to an audience much broader than the membership of any one church.”
Late Nite Catechism was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award in New York and won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Performance for Maripat Donovan. It is the longest running one-woman show in Off-Broadway history and is such in the cities of Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis, Scottsdale, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Purchase tickets by calling Cape May Convention Hall at (609) 884-9565 or visiting www.discovercapemaynj.com.