See the Hit Comedy, "Bible Bingo" One Night Only Saturday, April 6
Bingo. Laughter. Goofy Prizes. And a bit of the Bible!
Vicki Quade and Nuns4Fun Entertainment are proud to announce a performance of the hit comedy, Bible Bingo: An Act of Charity in Two Acts, for one night only on Saturday, April 6, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mt. Vernon, WA. The performance marks the debut of this acclaimed comedy in the Skagit Valley, and is being held as a fundraising event.
The play will be staged in the sanctuary of St. Paul’s, located at 415 S.18th St. in Mount Vernon. Doors open for pre-registration at 5:30 p.m., silent auction and appetizers at 6:00 p.m., performance at 7:00 pm.
Friendship House will receive10% of the proceeds from this fundraiser, and the remainder will support and expand the outreach programs and mission of St. Paul’s, including Family Promise, Skagit Art Preschool, and the ministry to the Hispanic communities of the Skagit Valley.
Bible Bingo is a comedy about the Catholic culture of fundraising and bingo, featuring the character, Mrs. Mary Margaret O'Brien, a former nun who now heads a fictitious archdiocese fundraising department. It’s written by Vicki Quade, one of the creators of the international hit comedy, Late Nite Catechism.
Featured in the New York Times, Bible Bingo is described this way: “The show features improv, Broadway show-tune singalongs, onstage audience-participation quizzes about the Bible and, yes, bingo. Prizes include glow-in-the-dark rosaries and Jesus car fresheners that smell like olive trees.”
The Chicago Stage Standard calls the show, “A fresh new twist on bingo.” New City Chicago raves, “the show is filled with Catholic humor.”
In this interactive comedy, the parish needs money and Mrs. O’Brien is ready to help! Bring the two together and you have a night of bible trivia, audience interaction, improvised moments, and the funniest quiz about the Holy Family you’ve ever seen.
Add to that a box of wacky prizes, fun bingo cards, and a lot of Catholic humor. In this interactive bingo show, you’ll actually play bingo, and still learn a little something about what it means to be Catholic! The show gets the audience talking about everything from Adam & Eve to modern sins.
You’ll be laughing so hard, you’ll have to be careful watching your bingo cards!
“Bible Bingo is a really good show,” says Theatre by Numbers. “A number of people get together to have some munchies and drinks. They play a few rounds of Bingo while they laugh, sing, chat, and goof around. It is a beautiful thing.”
Tickets are available at St. Paul’s, from members, and on the St. Paul’s Facebook page (@stpaulsmv). In addition to admission to the comedy show, the ticket price includes pre-show hors d'oeuvres, admission to a silent auction, a wine wall, a dessert table at intermission, and a ticket for one drink.
For more information about the show, check out www.nuns4fun.com or www.stpaulsmv.com.
Go ahead…. resurrect your social life in this guaranteed night of divine entertainment!
More fun than Sodom and Gomorrah!! bSo much fun, you’ll have to confess it!!!
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR ON THE EVENING OF THE PERFORMANCE AT THE FOLLOWING PRICES:
ADULT: $40
SENIOR: $35
STUDENT (WITH ID): $35
COUPLE: $65
An Interview With Vicki Quade March 2019
How do you describe Bible Bingo?
It’s an interactive comedy where we talk about religion in society: things from the Bible…movie stars that played priests…any way that people can connect to their own religion and how religion is (experienced) in our society. In addition to all this funny stuff, we get to play actual games of bingo! I can tell you that people will be laughing and laughing…and then you say, “B7,” and it gets dead quiet, because everybody loves bingo. The prizes include glow in the dark rosaries, holy cards, old VHS movies, religious coloring books…just any old stuff that I can pick up. It’s really a fun evening.
We often think of religion as a source of strife. How do you make it a source of humor?
I start out by asking people what religion they are, so I ask how many in the audience are Catholics. There is usually a good smattering of Catholics, especially if I’m doing a fundraiser at a Catholic church or school, but there are always non-Catholics as well. There will also be jews, muslims, non-denominational Christians — and all of them love religion. The show is not controversial or mocking religion. It’s family friendly. People really enjoy that it is a safe place where people of different faiths can be together, laugh, learn, and get to know each other. The idea is that religion is part of our lives and is something we can talk about and laugh about.
How did you get started with this?
My daughter will be 27 in April, and her entire life has been involved with me and religious comedy. I start writing the show “Late Nite Catechism” in March 1993. It opened at the end of May. We thought it was just going to be a 6-week run with two performances a week, but we really tapped into something with this interactive religious comedy. I took it and developed other shows. I love the bingo shows because they appeal way beyond a Catholic audience.
What is your background?
I was raised Catholic and I was born on the Holy Day of Obligation, so I was six years old before I realized not everybody goes to mass on their birthday! My professional background is in journalism. I wanted to write as soon as I could hold a pencil. I worked for Newsweek Magazine for a number of years and freelanced. I worked for the American Bar Association and the ABA Journal and publishing department. I segued into writing for the theatre in Chicago, and writing about religion was very natural for me.
What is it about your plays that non-Catholics respond to?
All people have some religious background. I think in the most dire of conditions people turn to prayer. Religion is a part of everyone’s life, so when you can present information that is intelligent, funny, playful, and smart — and the kind of show that is family-friendly — I think people will respond to that no matter what their faith is. I do get a lot of different faiths coming to my shows.
What is Nuns4Fun and your business model?
Nuns4Fun is the theatrical production company that books all my various shows at theaters and churches, fundraisers, and corporate events. I have a lot of different actors who work for me, as well as stage managers, designers, and sales people. My business model is based on what I learned delivering newspapers when I was nine years old and had to learn to ride a bike: you have a product that you have to get out to the public. There is a cost involved in doing that. You have to collect your money, and then you keep your profits. Once you learn where to find your audience, the rest just falls into place. It’s a solo show, so we rely on the the venue to provide the set pieces, lighting, and prep work. By the time we arrive it is just a matter of making sure that everything is on stage.
How many performances have you done at this point?
I started Bible Bingo back in 2011, so it is in its ninth year. I perform every weekend at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago unless I’m on the road. I’ve lost count of the number of performances…but it’s been a lot!
What are some of your favorite moments from your shows?
I was in Ladysmith, Wisconsin in the dead of winter. I drove there from Chicago because it’s hard to get there any other way. The show was well attended, with a really nice audience. In about the fourth row I saw a woman who I thought was 30 or 40 years old with a boy who looked about 10. She was bedraggled and exhausted looking. I noticed her because the boy was laughing and she looked as though she just wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep. At intermission I went out for refreshments and the woman found me and said, “I have to tell you, my son has not laughed since his father died. My husband was killed in a truck accident several months ago.” She walked away and I started to cry. If you ask yourself, why has this moment happened to me, I truly believe that I was sent there for that woman and her son. After the show her son asked for a St. Christopher holy card for his mother, so I loaded him up with stuff. I once had a young woman come up to me who said she was considering becoming a nun but hadn’t told anyone because she was afraid they would laugh at her. I gave her some information on how to find out more about religious orders. We had a really nice discussion. We do a collection after every show for retired nuns in various orders. We give to an Episcopal order in San Francisco, the Community of St. Francis. We just like nuns.