Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You Play

People who never heard of the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse before the furor caused in September by its production of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You" might conclude, from the safe programming since then, that the theater has had a change of heart about staging controversial works. That would be the wrong conclusion. Reviving Christopher Durang's 1971 satirical farce about Catholic dogma was an aberration in the first place, playhouse founder Pati Tambellini said earlier this week.

The City Council, on the advice of the city attorney, will not take any immediate action against the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse over its production of the satire "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," which some residents have branded "anti-Christian bigotry." But that did not save the council from some needling at its meeting Monday meeting by local arts activists, who presented a check for $3.72 to the city's general fund.

The immediate danger has passed for the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse in the controversy over its production of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," but the theater company's future may have been clouded by the brouhaha.

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A couple who launched a controversy over city arts grants earlier this summer are now seeking the cancellation of a Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse production of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," calling it a work of "anti-religious bigotry" that violates recently adopted grant restrictions.

The immediate danger has passed for the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse in the controversy over its production of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," but the theater company's future may have been clouded by the brouhaha.

The Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse did not violate a new arts-grant restriction barring city-funded groups from engaging in religious activity with its production of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," City Atty. Thomas A. Kathe has determined. Kathe, who sent the legal opinion in a report to City Council members early this week, found that the city apparently has no grounds to demand repayment of city money from the theater company.

We have been informed that our young people have little knowledge of geography. Well, they are up on whoever fed Keith Jackson his opening line for last Saturday's national broadcast of the Oklahoma-UCLA football game. As the home audience was given an aerial view of the dirty atmosphere, we were informed that Pasadena is at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley. For Times readers unfamiliar with the area, Pasadena is in the San Gabriel Valley.

Christopher Durang, the author of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," could not be reached Wednesday for comment on the latest controversy over his 1979 play. In an August interview, however, he told The Times that he was initially surprised that people found the play anti-religious. "I was. I think I was a little naive to be surprised. I just thought 'Sister Mary' was presenting my viewpoints. The times it had been done initially, audiences on the whole found it funny.

The City Council, on the advice of the city attorney, will not take any immediate action against the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse over its production of the satire "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," which some residents have branded "anti-Christian bigotry." But that did not save the council from some needling at its meeting Monday meeting by local arts activists, who presented a check for $3.72 to the city's general fund.

The Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse did not violate a new arts-grant restriction barring city-funded groups from engaging in religious activity with its production of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," City Atty. Thomas A. Kathe has determined. Kathe, who sent the legal opinion in a report to City Council members early this week, found that the city apparently has no grounds to demand repayment of city money from the theater company.

"We're not activists at all," says Ernie Feeney. "We're just concerned citizens." Despite that humble claim, the Feeneys--Ernie and husband John--have single-handedly pushed Costa Mesa into the national debate over censorship and public funding of the arts. The Feeneys have lived in Costa Mesa for 25 years, and say they have been active in city matters for about seven years. It is the arts issue, however, that suddenly has boosted them to prominence.

We have been informed that our young people have little knowledge of geography. Well, they are up on whoever fed Keith Jackson his opening line for last Saturday's national broadcast of the Oklahoma-UCLA football game. As the home audience was given an aerial view of the dirty atmosphere, we were informed that Pasadena is at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley. For Times readers unfamiliar with the area, Pasadena is in the San Gabriel Valley.

Anne Hogan Shereshevsky, a former nun and practicing Catholic, sat front row center the other night at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse "to see what all the hullabaloo was about." Her verdict, after attending a sold-out performance of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," was a rave. The 11-year-old satirical farce, which centers on a nun's lecture about Catholic dogma, was "quite irreverent," rather tame ("they didn't show sexual intercourse") but "very enjoyable," she said.

To be a good columnist, I suppose I should get easily riled up about things. Lord knows, a lot of things bug me. And what easier way to get upset than to pick up the newspaper and see what my fellow citizens are doing and saying. So I'm reading the paper, all the while on the lookout for a good excuse to become indignant, when, lo and behold, here come the Feeneys of Costa Mesa, husband John and wife Ernie, practically charging right off the page.

Anne Hogan Shereshevsky, a former nun and practicing Catholic, sat front row center the other night at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse "to see what all the hullabaloo was about." Her verdict, after attending a sold-out performance of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," was a rave. The 11-year-old satirical farce, which centers on a nun's lecture about Catholic dogma, was "quite irreverent," rather tame ("they didn't show sexual intercourse") but "very enjoyable," she said.

To be a good columnist, I suppose I should get easily riled up about things. Lord knows, a lot of things bug me. And what easier way to get upset than to pick up the newspaper and see what my fellow citizens are doing and saying. So I'm reading the paper, all the while on the lookout for a good excuse to become indignant, when, lo and behold, here come the Feeneys of Costa Mesa, husband John and wife Ernie, practically charging right off the page.

Joey's Bar-B-Q, 1339 N. East St., Anaheim. Open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. (714) 991-9040. Meat so tender it melts in your mouth, served dripping in a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce, in portions hearty enough to satisfy most any appetite. This place is rib heaven.

Christopher Durang, the author of "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," could not be reached Wednesday for comment on the latest controversy over his 1979 play. In an August interview, however, he told The Times that he was initially surprised that people found the play anti-religious. "I was. I think I was a little naive to be surprised. I just thought 'Sister Mary' was presenting my viewpoints. The times it had been done initially, audiences on the whole found it funny.