“’Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3”

City Theatre

412-431-2489

Performances… “’Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3”

City Theatre

412-431-2489

Performances begin May 27, 2009.

Sister is coming to Pittsburgh, and you better listen to what she says.

Kimberly Richards returns to Pittsburgh’s City Theatre as “Sister,” a nun, in the third installment of the Late Nite Catechism series. The play is based on the idea of audience members “attending” a catechism class taught by Richards’ character, who uses comedic improvisation and audience interaction to entertain and educate.

“’Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3” operates on the same basic principles of the popular “Sister Act” movie series — that nuns can shake things up and have fun while still being disciplinarians.

By exaggerating her enforcement of Catholic behavioral standards, Richards uses humor to illustrate ideas that are usually approached from a serious perspective.

When the show starts, Richards instructs audience members on how to behave properly.

She tells women wearing low-cut tops to cover themselves more appropriately, and she requires a Hail Mary for anyone staring at his own feet while walking.

Because a different group of audience members attends and contributes to each show, improvisation is the play’s key ingredient.

“Even though we have a script,” Richards said, “in eight years, I have never done the same show twice. There is a huge repeat audience due to the fact that people know that something different happens every night.”

At the end of each show, Richards chooses two couples to compete in a dating game, in which she tests the couples’ knowledge of how well they know their partner.

The show also has another interactive part — a question-and-answer session. Richards said it terrified her when the show started, because she never knew what people would ask. But there are the “usual” questions that Richards hears each night, such as, “Do you think priests should be allowed to marry?”

“Basically you say, ‘Well, you know, if they really, really, really love each other,’” she said.

The ambiguity of a simplified answer with a twist represents the way the show in general is able to approach serious topics with humor while also subtly nudging at the policies of the Catholic Church.

While some might consider the show irreverent, Richards said it has full support from nuns and the Catholic Church, and nuns are some of the show’s biggest fans.

Richards also said nuns in the audience will probably get in trouble during the show just as much as anyone else — perhaps even more.

One of her favorite stories, she said, focused on a nun who kept talking without raising her hand during the show, an offense that Sister punishes by demanding a dollar fine each time.

The nun violated the rule so often that she joked she should have taken a vow of silence instead of a vow of poverty. The nun’s reaction might illustrate the shows intended reception, because it was originally written as an ode to nuns and the Catholic Church. The series was written in 1993 by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, also the show’s original star.

Currently, Richards said, about 15 actresses across the country play the role of Sister in the show, and each brings her own experience to the material.

Richards, who lives in San Francisco, attended Catholic school when she was younger. She said she draws from these experiences for her role.

Richards said Catholics are not the only audience members who will feel entertained by the show.

“Anybody that went to school and had any kind of strict teacher will get it,” Richards said. “There’s really nothing to get. It’s just a fun evening and it’s a game. And in the game, Sister’s the boss. So do whatever Sister says.”

A collection is taken at the end of each show to benefit local orders of retired nuns.