Customer Reviews

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and the Actor's Nightmare

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I recently read "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All For You". I thought that it was a hilarious modern comedy. It was one of the few plays for school that I have actually enjoyed. I think that Durang finds the perfect balance between modernism, comedy and absurdity. After reading works by other modern playwrites such as Ionesco, the more subtle nature of Durang's work was welcome. I recommend this play to anyone who has any knowledge of the Catholic church or even anyone who doesn't but wants a good laugh.

Christopher Durang writes the blackest of black comedies and tackles some of the most emotionally devastating issues in life, often wresting humor from the Catholic upbringing of the main characters, which has left them unprepared to deal with the tragedies of their lives. "Sister Mary Ignatius," which won the 1981 Obie Award, is his most controversial and most pointed indictment of the church. Sister Mary, one of twenty-seven children--"five became priests, seven became nuns, three became brothers, and the rest were institutionalized"--will not hear of any compromise, and mercy plays no part in her life.

Four former students of Sister Mary arrive at her 25th anniversary celebrationto find her on stage expounding church dogma, answering questions from the audience, and telling doubting individuals that they will go to hell. The four former students have found that Sister Mary's view of the world has left them unprepared to face the devastating circumstances of their lives--abortion, rape, homosexuality, alcoholism, unwed motherhood, sexual abuse by a priest, thoughts of suicide, the suffering of a loved one from cancer. As they confront her with realities, the confrontation becomes increasingly emotional, and Sister Mary resorts to name-calling, screaming insults, and bullying. The climax is stunning and may offend some reader/viewers.

The second play, An Actor's Nightmare, is much less a play than a soliloquy. When the lead actor in an unnamed play cannot appear, another actor, totally unprepared, is forced to take his place. The play brings a nightmare to life, as the unprepared actor, George Spelvin, recites lines from Noel Coward's Private Lives, switches to Hamlet, then to Samuel Beckett in an effort to keep from "drying up." As he becomes more emotional, he recites everything else he remembers--the Pledge of Allegiance, the Catholic Act of Contrition, The Lord's Prayer, and eventually his ABC's.

Nightmare and tragedy infuse both these works, which also manage, through their ironies, to tap into the bleakest of humor. The characters evoke empathy, but Durang's quick pace and the outrageous disconnects among his characters keep emotional events from becoming maudlin. His weird wit always shines through. Mary Whipple

The Actor's Nightmare is a crazy and fun play, especially for people who are actors themselves. George, the main character, suddenly finds himself on stage, only problem is, he thinks he's an accountant, not an actor!Sister Mary is an even more brilliantly written play. The performance of this show has been known to make people of certain faith groups leave the audience in disgust! However, I have NEVER read or viewed a more hillarious play! The gist is that a group of former Catholic school students come back to face their childhood nightmare. Sister Mary is disgusted to find out what has happened to her former students who are all grown up now and have very interesting, not so Catholic, lives. What will she do when all of their "Sins" are reveled? Find out!

Performed on the same ticket, THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE and SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU opened in 1981 and proved an immediate success, playing various venues around New York for two years before going on to take stages across the United States by storm. Although written to split a single evening, the two plays have little in common and are often performed separately. THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE is extremely popular, and one often sees it performed in high school and drama competitions. SISTER MARY IGNATIUS, although extremely well known, is horrendously controversial and it is seldom seen outside the professional theatre.

THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE begins with George Spelvin, an accountant, stumbling onto a stage. He has no idea of where he is or what he is doing--until he is approached by the stage manager, who informs that Edwin has been in an accident; George, Edwin's understudy, must go on in his place. George is therefore thunderstruck to find himself playing the role of Elyot in Noel Coward's PRIVATE LIVES, but no sooner does he accustom himself to this than the play turns into HAMLET, which then turns into a mixture of WAITING FOR GODOT and HAPPY DAYS by Beckett, which then turns into A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS by Robert Bolt. Actors and actresses swirl around him, lines change unexpectedly, a spotlight appears, disappears, moves around the stage as George tries desperately to perform a Shakespearean soliloquy, and the final scene brings forth an executioner. It is extremely witty stuff, particularly if you have a general idea of the various plays involved and who the other characters--Sarah Siddons, Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, and others--are in theatrical history and lore. Even so, like most farces, THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE does not "read" well on the page, and readers who are unfamiliar with theatrical conventions may have considerable difficulty imagining how it will play out on the stage.

SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU presents us with, of course, Sister Mary Ignatius, a teaching nun who appears before the audience to explain such matters as heaven, purgatory, and hell; the difference between mortal and venial sins; and exactly what went on Gomorrah. She is assisted in this by a seven year old child, Thomas, who meticulously repeats Sister Mary Ignatius' doctrine in exchange for treats, very much as a dog accepts rewards for tricks well performed. Although her notions are extremely simplistic, and although the way she makes use of the child is somewhat disquieting, Sister Mary Ignatius seems quite likeable--until she is confronted by four members of her class from 1959, who claim they have come to perform the same Christmas play they did under her direction so many years ago.

The play is as simplistic as anything Sister Mary Ignatius herself believes, but when performed by adults it proves completely ludicrous, occasionally grotesque, and perhaps even blasphemous. When the play ends, the four former students reveal they have come specifically in order to humiliate Sister Mary Ignatius, and that their lives have not turned out according to the Catholic plan: one man is gay, one man is an alcoholic wife beater, one woman has an illegitimate child, and one woman has had two abortions. All of them question their faith. One in particular has rejected it entirely, and has come to kill Sister Mary Ignatius in revenge for misguided teachings. It is outrageously funny, but there is no getting around the fact that SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU takes a razorblade to the face of the Roman Catholic Church. It has consistently outraged members of that church since its debut--and even many Protestants will likely find the play unendurable, particularly where the Christmas play is concerned, and like THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE, it does not "read" well on the page.

Ultimately, both plays are so distinctly theatrical that they are probably best left to readers with theatre backgrounds, and I would be cautious in my recommendation of SISTER MARY, which is indeed extremely funny but also extremely mean-spirited.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
In Memory of friend Jerry Williams

i found this book to be a little over the audiences heads. they didn't understand the slight comedy and were quite bored.

I have not seen "Sister Mary," but I did have the priviledge of seeing a high school production of "The Actor's Nightmare" at a competition. Though the acting could have been better, it was obvious that this play is a winner. Go Durang!

I had seen this play years ago when I was living in Austin, remembered it fondly, so I picked it up back in December while I was working on my own one-act play (which I have now finished and feel quite pleased with). Durang spears the Catholic faith without mercy, and this would be hard to watch if it also wasn't so funny. And while Catholics may have the most problem with some of this, other literal beliefs might be surprised to find themselves reflected in Sister Mary and her unwavering trust in herself. Since my play was a satire as well, I tried to take as much constructive evidence from this that I could use.

The other play in this volume is okay. Clever enough, I think it would be more effective on stage. It could be that I could visualize Sister Mary having seen a production of it, while I came at An Actor's Nightmare cold.

I have recently been in a production of "An Actor's Nightmare" and I have to say that it's the best play I've ever read and will probably never be surpassed in the amount of fun I had performing as George Spelvin. Read this. It's well worth it.

INCREDIBLE

---> READ NOW

If you think Sister Mary Ignatius is a fun, tongue-in-cheek romp through Catholic nostalgia - be aware it is not NUN SENSE or LATE NIGHT CATECHISM. It is anti-Catholic, insuluting to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and its few laughs end in tragedy. My 14 year old daughter felt the same as I did. It does make a thought-provoking statement about the effect Church teaching (in the wrong hands) can have on gays, lesbians and women, but the Christmas pageant shows contempt and irreverence for something sacred to millions of the world's Catholics. Anyone who produces this play on will not be able to avoid controversy. Definitely NOT for school production.