Wagner College Theatre Stages ‘Catholic School Girls’ Oct. 11-16

The Wagner College Theatre's Stage One season opens on Tuesday, Oct. 11 with Casey Kurtti's "Catholic School Girls." The show runs through Sunday, Oct. 16.

Written in 1989, the play satirizes Catholic school life in the 1960s. Four women take on the challenging roles of students as they grow up, from age 6 to the difficult age of 14. The same women also play four nuns, all aptly named Sister Mary. "Catholic School Girls" is a piece that explores friendship, while questioning authority, through the lens of these four girls growing up at St. George's School in Yonkers during the 1960s.

Wagner theater professor Mickey Tennenbaum, well known to Staten Island stage audiences, directs the production. Tennenbaum‘s most recent work at Wagner was last year's "Loose Knit," also produced in the Stage One studio theater. Thanks in part to those alive in the '60s, times have changed a lot since then, yet Tennenbaum says today's audience has a lot to learn from the play and that its themes are still relevant.

"It's always a good idea to question authority, to question doctrine, to question everything," said Tennenbaum. " ‘Catholic School Girls' is a slice of life, so there is a little bit of everything - there's comedy, there's tragedy."

For a cast and crew that have only read about this era in history books, preparation turned into a history lesson. The actors met with women who had first-hand experience of Catholic schools in the 1960s. Fourth graders also attended some of the rehearsals to help the cast get in touch with their "inner child."

Presented by permission of Samuel French, "Catholic School Girls" stars Brittany Santoro, Bronwyn Whittle, Heather Kirschenbauer and Mary DeBorger. While the roles present unique challenges for the cast and crew, Tennenbaum said, "They are an incredibly talented group."

· Tuesday through Saturday, Oct. 11-15, at 8 p.m.
· Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 & 16, at 2 p.m.

For tickets, visit or call the Box Office at 718-390-3259. Due to the ongoing renovations being made to Wagner College's Main Hall, the Box Office has temporarily moved to Reynolds House. For security reasons, Wagner College Theatre does not accept any payments or orders via email.