Christopher Durang's "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All" is anything but a typical holiday play. The AU Players production pokes fun at Catholics, Jews, gay people and, hey, even you.
The "school day" begins with Sister Mary (Ryan Tanner-Read, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences) and her 7-year-old boy-toy Thomas (Tucker Shelton, a freshman in CAS) explaining concepts of heaven, "fairly unpleasant" purgatory and hell and listing celebrities who are going there. Don't worry, Paris Hilton and the Dalai Lama will get what they deserve.
A troop of former students interrupts the lesson to put on a nativity pageant reminiscent of a Monty Python sketch, in which Mary and Joseph are a disgruntled couple and the angel outside Jesus' tomb is a Jewish man who appears to be from the depths of New York.
Tanner-Read's buxom Sister Mary has enormous presence, from her high-pitched voice to her somewhat disturbing sexual frustration. Tanner-Read throws his Sister Mary around the performance space, primly clasping his hands one moment and feeling up the confused and bewildered Thomas the next. Director Jacqueline Salamack, a sophomore in CAS, says she got the idea to cross-cast Sister Mary at auditions. The resulting comic tension makes Sister Mary's character that much more outrageous.
The rest of the cast shares Tanner-Read's impeccable comedic timing. Shelton's Thomas is a ball of sticky-fingered energy. Onstage the entire show, there were never two consecutive minutes in which Thomas wasn't squirming or gasping.
"I actually have more energy after playing Thomas," Shelton said. Philomena (Brookes May, a freshman in the School of Communication and the School of International Service) is one of the strongest characters. Her reaction to Sister Mary's ridiculousness provides a contrast without diminishing how great it is to watch her character squirm. Aloysius Benheim (Ben Schorr, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs), surprises and delights with his winning comedic choices, from his slack-jawed terror of Sister Mary to his confidence during the pageant.
The dramatic arc of "Sister Mary" is inconsistent; the strength of the middle section highlights inefficiencies in the pacing of the beginning and end of the show. When working together, however, the cast has more energy than a 6-year-old on Christmas morning.
For all the character's craziness, Sister Mary raises serious spiritual concerns. Diane, a member of the pageant played by Darrian D'Olio (a freshman in SOC), delivers a touching and hard-hitting monologue about God's role in a world filled with pain and evil. Gary, played by CAS sophomore Zaid Tanvir, admits that though he is in a loving, gay relationship, he still goes to confession because he isn't sure that what he is doing is moral.
Besides the lampooning of Catholicism and religion in general, Durang's "Sister Mary" does earnestly inquire about a number of difficult topics - the infallibility of religious figures, whether God is too big for infinitesimal behavioral requirements or if He loves the stuff. After Diane's monologue, Sister Mary exclaims, "I thought I understood! I thought there was order in the world!" Though this provocative line is closely followed by more off-the-wall humor, the statement remains important to the heart of the play.
"Any good theater is going to ask questions," AU Players Artistic Director David Conison said. "The best way to do that is through comedy."
AU Players chose this play to do "something exciting," Conison said.
"Sister Mary" will be a perfect way to diffuse pre-exam stress. Running at an hour, it won't infringe too much on your study schedule. Its riotousness mingled with unflinching substance makes it an A-worthy performance.
"Sister Mary" runs Dec. 4 through Dec. 6 at 11:30 p.m. in the Tavern. Tickets are $5 at the door.
