I felt like a Catholic school girl

We received free tickets to attend the Des Moines Civic Center's Sister's Christmas Catechism last night. We always enjoy going to see a theatre performance, especially since we where both in drama while in high school.

Before attending Sister's Christmas Catechism, I wasn't sure what to expect, as neither Jon nor I are Catholic. We went with an open mind and had a wonderful time. While this one woman show had a general script, the majority of it was done through improvisation. The audience was engaged and participating during the entire performance. In fact, the responses from the audience is what made the show.

When we entered the theatre, Christmas carols were playing. When the Sister entered the room, she decided that "Jingle Bells" wasn't Christmasy enough, so we had to change the lyrics to "Oh what fun it is to ride with baby Jesus in a sleigh." My favorite part of the night was when several ladies in the audience got their candy taken away by the Sister, only to steal it back, later in the show, and ended up buying another package of candy to give to the plastic baby Jesus.

The second half of the performance was a reinactment of the Nativity, with adults. However, there is a twist and someone had stolen the Magi's gold. Thankfully, the Sister recovers the gold.

During the performance, we were either laughing hysterically or very uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable because of the jokes, but because the Sister did a wonderful, very accurate job in portraying a Nun. Chewing gum? Need to spit it out. Come late to the performance? Pay a late entrance fee. Eating food? Get it taken away. Talking to your neighbor? You have to share what you are talking about. It was to the point that I was "scared" to drink my coffee, as I didn't want it taken away! It was all in good fun, though. Improv is not an easy art and I was impressed at how well the actress rolled with the punches.

If you want to see a performance where you don't get picked on or are easily offended, don't see this play. If you are wanting some good laughs and to get involved in a performance, you'd enjoy seeing this performance.

The Civic Center's Temple of Performing Arts is an absolutely beautiful place. We look forward to seeing many more quality performances there in the future.