'Sister's Christmas Catechism' at Kimmel Center: Putting on the nativity

This may be news to no one, but if you're seeing Maripat Donovan's

Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold

at the Kimmel Center, it probably helps if you're Catholic. It also probably helps if you've enjoyed Sister's other adventures, such as

Late Nite Catechism

,

Late Night Catechism 2: Sister Strikes Again

, or

Late Night Catechism 3: 'Til Death Do Us Part

.

It may even help most if your entire theatergoing experience is limited to Nativity reenactments, because fully 40 minutes of this two-hour, one-woman show is spent preparing for and presenting one. And by "preparing for and presenting," I mean conscripting audience members, calling them onstage, dressing them in old drapes and lampshades, sending them off to the side, then calling them back up to pose, creche-style, for photos. It's like watching a school play, but at a stranger's kid's school; for authenticity in that regard, members of Cherry Hill East's high school choir join in for some caroling (they, at least, are well-rehearsed). Afterward, during the show's final 10 minutes, Sister (Colleen Moore) elaborates on its subtitle.

Moore's performance ranges from charming to rambling. The first act proceeds like this: She loses her place, checks her notes, engages her spectators, loses her place again. Improvised bits about confirmation names get genuine chuckles (she tells a woman named Annemarie Therese, "If you had Elizabeth in there you'd have the trifecta!"), but there are also plenty of opportunities for improv gold that a better-trained performer wouldn't miss. Latecomers would seem a natural target for some old-school nun-style discipline, but instead, Moore just mumbles, "Crazy people," and remains on task - whatever that task may be; it's still a bit unclear.

Director/production designer Marc Silvia keeps most of the house lights on, which may be a nod to Sister's supposed classroom setting, or else it helps her to see into the audience. Either way, it's a distraction. Still, the crowd smiled, and plenty of folks jumped up to take those photos. (Moore told them, "This is next year's Christmas card.") Sister's humor is squeaky clean, and attempts are made to let the "publics" in on more esoteric (to me, anyway) topics, such as a "May Crowning Queen."

It's telling that the evening's biggest laugh came not courtesy of Moore, but from a Nativity participant dressed as an ox, who chomped on the needles of Sister's Christmas tree. Maybe Donovan ought to consider him for the inevitable Late Nite Catechism 4.

At 8 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets. Tickets: $49. Information: 215-893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.

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