‘Catechism’ back at playhouse

Tom Titus

The Huntington Beach Playhouse continues to raise funds for its

eventual independence, and it’s taking a cue from its professional

neighbor to the south.

Having succeeded with its first offering of “Late Nite Catechism,”

the playhouse has scheduled two more visits from the stern sister,

these in mid and late November.

Most likely, the theater is well aware of the stunning success

achieved by the Laguna Playhouse, which recently announced an

unprecedented ninth holdover for its popular Monday night session of

“Late Nite Catechism,” which has been holding forth since the opening

of the 2003-04 season. Laguna’s unofficial closing date now is Oct.

21.

For the uninitiated, “Late Nite Catechism,” created by Vicki Quade

and Marypat Donovan, returns audiences of the Catholic faith to

parochial school days, when the black-garbed Sister ruled supreme in

the classroom.

This nun, however, isn’t there to enforce discipline. Her mission

is to induce laughter, a mission she’s been accomplishing for over a

year, once a week on Monday nights, at the Laguna Playhouse.

She’ll confiscate lipsticks and candy from the “naughty” students

and pass out glow-in-the-dark rosaries to those who answer her

queries correctly.

“Late Nite Catechism” engages the audience members in a mock

question-and-answer session including, among other things, the lives

of the saints. Non-Catholics may be a bit stymied, but they’ll get a

kick out of it as well.

“It speaks to an audience much broader than any one church,” a New

York Times critic commented.

The show is just one in a series of benefits organized by the

playhouse to fatten its liberation fund -- the goal being an eventual

move into a theater building it can call home. Currently, the

thespians are guests of the Huntington Beach Library and must conform

to the library’s wishes regarding rehearsal time and performance

scheduling.

The library is only the latest home for the community theater

group in a 40-plus-year history that included, most memorably, a

“barn” owned by the Huntington Beach Co. in which most of its shows

were produced.

Other venues have included schools, shopping centers and even a

courthouse (for “Night of January 16th” back in 1963). The theater’s

annual Shakespearean show is staged under the open sky in the

adjacent Huntington Beach Central Park each July.

The theater’s board of directors is committed to acquiring a

building in which the playhouse will be the sole owner and occupant,

hence the periodic fund raisers. The latest production of “Late Nite

Catechism” will unfold Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. in the Library

Theater, while the sequel, “Late Nite Catechism II,” will be

presented Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 22 and 23, also at 8. Tickets for

both shows are $37, and reservations are being accepted at (714)

375-0696.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.