Trivial Pursuit With Sister

Are You Smarter Than Your 8th Grade Nun? – Nuns4Fun

If you climb the stairs (or take the elevator) up to the second floor of the Greenhouse Theater Center, you’ll find a parochial school classroom, circa 1961. It’s tucked away inside the most intimate of the Center’s four theater spaces. Walking into the venue it’s like a blast from the past for theatergoers of a certain age. There you’ll be greeted by the nun who’s going to be your teacher and guide for the evening’s 90 minutes of Trivial Pursuit with Sister. And it’s “more fun than a frog in a glass of milk.” 

This is a revival of the popular Summer installment of the Nuns4Fun franchise, presented in a limited run before the onslaught of all the upcoming holiday shows. Vicki Quade, the heart, soul and brains behind shows like “Bible Bingo,” “Put the Nuns in Charge,” “Saints & Sinners” and “Mother Superior’’s Ho-Ho-Holy Night” created this homage to a popular television quiz program. All of these lighthearted entertainments are offshoots from the original, the show that inspired all the others, “Late Nite Catechism.” Ms Quade’s delightful religious regalement is, by the way, now its 29th year! And while audiences who have had a Catholic upbringing will probably enjoy all of these shows immensely, patrons of any religious background will find this trivia test a great deal of fun.

The show runs at a kind and gentle pace. There’s no pressure, such as you might find during a Trivia Tavern crawl. Theatergoers will notice there’s a roulette wheel on the teacher’s desk. When it’s spun by the nun in charge, the pointer will land on one of several topics. They include such categories as history, geography, music, spelling, civics and, of course, religion. Vicki Quade introduces herself to the audience as the quiz moderator. But tonight, she tells us, since the Sister who was supposed to operate the wheel of fortune has gone to see “Wakanda Forever,” she needs a volunteer to be the Nun in Charge. So a charming young audience member dons the veil and proceeds to help out. 

Once the pointer lands on a topic, Vicki asks the actual questions of the contestants, providing multiple-choice answers and offering helpful hints. But if the wheel lands on a topic called “Sister,” then the nun gets to select a question from a booklet on her desk. There are several rounds of contestants and a variety of cute prizes are awarded (I won an eraser that said “Amazing” on it for correctly and quickly spelling the word, “arithmetic”). At the end of the evening, when the contest has concluded, a top winner is crowned and awarded a medal, while the runner-up wins a box of tasty Honeybuns.

“Are You Smarter Than Your 8th Grade Nun” isn’t a play with a plot. It’s a fun-filled interactive game of Trivial Pursuit that pits volunteer audience members against the Sister in charge. The event is comforting, low-key, full of mirth and lots of fun for everyone. Jokes are told, amazing, obscure facts are revealed and prizes are awarded. No one leaves empty-handed or unacknowledged. It’s an evening or afternoon that brings back fond memories of being back in grammar school, Catholic or otherwise. So take heart: pray, hope and don’t worry. A stress-free quiz bowl frolic awaits one and all.      

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented by Nuns4Fun at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the Greenhouse box office, by calling 773-404-7336 or by going to www.greenhousetheater.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.