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 Maripat Donovan’s
creation of ‘Sister’ serves
many purposes; offers humorous look at a fading part of the
American scene,works on behalf of aging sisters
by Daniel Hines
Publisher
TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com
At one time, they were a beloved and familiar part
of the American Scene…faceless women with heavy garbs (habits) that
must have caused them to swelter under the Summer heat, but were
undoubtedly equally burdensome in rain or snow.
They were the subjects of movies, played by
 such
stars as Ingrid Bergman, Joan Collins, Julie Andrews, even Whoopie
Goldberg. They started and
ran hospitals in an era before large chains and ‘benefits managers’
and HMOs determined that illness was good if it were profitable.
Their names populate the list of Saints of their
church, and even in modern times, their dwindling numbers exemplify
charity and compassion.
They taught literally millions of school children,
and did it so effectively, that for growing number of Americans, they
were the model for educational excellence and discipline in schools.
And, of course, they were the victims of
stereotypes—‘Sister Penguin’, breaking rulers, always loyal, but
never subservient.
They were the sisters, the nuns,
of what seems to be an endless number of orders, and whether or
not one was Roman Catholic, they fostered—demanded—a universal
respect.
That undoubtedly is what has led to the continued
success of ‘Late Nite Catechism,’ the creation of Maripat Donovan,
raised in Chicago, and who, as she says, like every other Roman Catholic
girl in the second grade was going to be a nun.
But, even though Maripat was to not become a
Sister, she has become one of the biggest champions of their
contributions—and their needs.
It started at a dinner party in 1992, when she was
telling friends stories about her Catholic education and the Sisters
that taught her.
“Everyone was laughing—not in a bad way—but
really finding the stories funny,” she recalls.
“Someone said I should really do something with such material.
“In
Chicago
, which is one of the top theater venues in the country, many stages
offer opportunities for new and experimental things after the regular
performances shut down for the night.
It’s called ‘late night theater’, hence the name of the
show, ‘Late Nite Catatism.
“We would go on stage at
11 p.m.
, but it wasn’t long before we moved to the main stage.”
Maripat, who admits that she always wanted wear a
nun outfit, quickly saw the universality of the play and the seeds were
planted for its success.
“It is so universal. Iff we don’t have a nun,
we all had a teacher…we’ve all been called on to answer a question
that we didn’t know the answer to…we’ve all been in trouble or
late for class.”
Still, Maripat is very aware of the uniqueness of
the Sisters.
“The history of the Nuns is the history history
of women in religion in
America
. They first came to US
during Civil War and acted as nurses for both side.
When there were Nuns on the battlefield,
offering help to the wounded of both sides, no
shots were fired.
“Next came the building of hospitals, always in
the inner cities for the poor that no one else cared about.”
And, because they worked cheaply and were educated,
the Nuns quickly became the backbone of the Catholic educational system.
That’s why the show is a class room situation.
”When you have a one-person show, you have to talk with audience,”
she explains. But, she is
quick to point out that the connection works for a large audience or a
smaller intimate setting, such as that at the Grandel.
“I’ve played for a small group but have done it
for 14, 000 people at
Anaheim
at a conference of religious educators.
It.works on a different level.”
Lest anyone think that God can’t work things out,
consider this story of how Maripat has become instrumental in helping
raise money for elderly Nuns, many of whom have no benefits of any type.
“We were in
Boston
, doing eight shows a week,” she says.
“Frankly, we were having a hard time selling tickets, getting
‘butts’ in t he seats.
”We need people to relate with for the show to work.
So we decided to give tickets away to Catholic organizations.
It was then that we made contact with contact with Marian Manor,
the largest old people’s
home in Massachussets, down in
South Boston
.
“We asked them, ‘would you like to have
residents see the show? They
said, ‘yes’ and so we started having a lot of older
people—including Sisters—in the audience.
“One night, I had an idea…let’s take a
collection for the Sisters. The
media age is 67 yers old, and some Sisters work until they’re 90.
Most don’t have Social Security and must rely
upon the charity of
their orders.
“Even that is harder because there aren’t as
many younger women becoming members of the order.
So, the idea of
helping out was born.”
Tht first night (it was during the Christmas season) an amazing $6300
was collected. But that was
to pale with later donations, and today the total tops $2 million.
“These women helped build this country.
They have contributed services, taught in schools, helped the
sick and poor, but didn’t
receive anything,” Maripat explains.
“Some orders have been force to sell services and
property and can’t take care of the Nuns
properly.”
Anyone who wants to help out, can visit www.funnynun.com
.
And remember, Maripat wants everyone to understand
that while the evening is filled with laughs for Catholics and
non-Catholics, the show is tribute to the Sister or was Maripat says,
“We don’t make fun of nuns…”
Still, the fast-moving show, complete with audience
participation and one-liners, is funny…even something like the child
molestation scandals are deftly handled.
While she properly refuses to make fun of such a serious
situation, regardless of what organization affected, Maripat
has a quick comeback for the problem:
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”Put the Sisters in charge,” she says.
All of which leads to the obvious conclusion.
This is a great show. I’ve
seen it three times now, been appropriately entertained and intimidated
and I’m not Catholic. This
is a show for everyone and it is due to the fact that Maripat is, as she
says, “I am a funny person and so are the women that play the part in
different shows (Mary Beth Burns has the honors in
St. Louis
).”
But even more importantly, I choose to believe that
God is rewarding first the audiences with a good laugh, the Sisters who
received a fitting tribute and recognition of help from the audiences,
and Maripat, who,while she never became a Nun, would have made a darned
good one.
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