Christopher Durang takes hilarious, harrowing aim at hardcore Catholicism in his 1980 one-act Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, revived to droll, terrifying life at this year’s Hollywood Fringe.

Michael Mullen dons Sister Mary’s traditional nun’s habit (there’s no way this Bride of Christ will be revealing even a stockinged ankle let alone a hint of calf) to answer everything you always wanted to know about Catholic dogma (but were afraid to ask), aided by 7-year-old prize pupil Thomas (Liam Risinger).

Q: Since eating meat on Friday is no longer deemed a mortal sin, what about people who used to dine on beef, chicken, or ham and didn’t confess the sin before they died?

A: People who would eat meat on Fridays back in the ‘50s tended to be the sort who would commit other mortal sins, so on a guess, I bet many of them are in hell for other sins, even if they did confess the eating of meat.

Q: Which contemporary cities are modern-day Sodoms, and why doesn’t God destroy them?

A: Modern-day Sodoms include New York City, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles, and the only reason that God has not destroyed them is that Catholic nuns and priests live in these cities, and God does not wish to destroy them. He does, however, give these people body lice and hepatitis.

Q: Are all our prayers answered?

A: What people who ask that question often don’t realize is that sometimes the answer to our prayer is “No.” “Dear God, please make my mother not be crazy.” God’s answer: “‘No.”

Audiences bent over in laughter at these Sister Mary gems can be excused for assuming that their sides will continue to be split throughout Durang’s play’s hour-or-so running time, but hell hath no fury like a playwright scarred by his Catholic upbringing, and the tonal shift that Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You takes in its second half makes it clear just how furious Durang is.

Enter former students Diane Symonds (Shayna Gabrielle), Philomena Rostovich (Lea Madda), Aloysius Benheim (Will Potter), and Gary Sullavan (Chris Ramirez), no longer Thomas’s age but fully grown adults with more than a few bones to pick once they’ve re-enacted their childhood Nativity Play.

Sister Mary Ignatius’s past and present rants again premarital sex, abortion, and homosexuality have taken their toll on these four young adults, and Sister Mary is about to find out just how great a toll that is.

If it’s not already clear, theatergoers with similar beliefs to those espoused by the play’s title character might not cotton to Christopher Durang’s stealth attack on the tenets of their faith, but the more similar you are to Diane, Philomena, Aloysius, or Gary, the more likely you are to find Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You a cathartic treat.

Director Jeramiah Peay brings out the best from his cast, most notably from Mullen, who nails Sister Mary’s bravado and her quirks to amusing, horrifying perfection.

Gabrielle, Madda, Potter, and Ramirez have great fun reverting to their childhood Nativity Play selves before showing off both comedic and dramatic chops in adult mode, with Gabrielle in particular revealing the devastating effect Sister Mary has had on her life, and young Risinger looks to be a child star in the making.

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You Fringe bare minimum where production values are concerned, but Mullen scores high marks for his ‘70s outfits, pitch perfect as always.

The production also features Greg Craft’s lighting, Ryan Crosby’s sound, and Mullen’s properties.

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You is presented by Mmmkay Productions. Ken Werther is publicist.

Outraged protests are said to have greeted Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You when it debuted in St. Louis and Boston, and decades later it will still not be to everyone’s tastes.

Fortunately for this reviewer, it is to mine, and though I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley, I’m glad I got to spend an evening with Sister Mary and her victims at Studio/Stage.

Studio/Stage, 520 North Western Ave., Los Angeles.
www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7575

–Steven Stanley
June 20, 2022
Photos: Jeramiah Peay

Tags: Christopher Durang, Hollywood Fringe Festival, Los Angeles Theater Review