The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun is a play that ridicules the life of the late singing nun, Jeanine Deckers. It was shown in April and May at the Grove Street Playhouse, in New York’s West Village. The play is vulgar and defamatory of Catholicism.
Catholic League president William Donohue saw the play and issued the following comment on it to the press:
“The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun features Sister Jeanine, the nun who sang the 1960s hit song, ‘Dominique.’ She is portrayed as a simpleton nun who becomes a lesbian. There is a drag queen nun, Sister Coco Callmeishmael, and a cigarette smoking Mother Superior (who is also a ‘pervert fan’), all of whom reside in a convent known as Our Lady of the Pernicious and Pestilent Wounds. A priest appears and has simulated sex on a piano with the Mother Superior.
“The play defames the Church, its saints and sacraments (especially Holy Communion), and priests and nuns. Yet the New York Times branded it as merely ‘camp’ humor. This tells us more about the newspaper than it should prudentially advertise. More honest was the writer and director of the play, Blair Fell, who called it ‘mostly fiction and strictly libelous.’
“It is disturbing to witness so many attacks on the Catholic Church coming from the artistic community. Even worse is the response of some critics: no matter how poor the talent, the very fact that a play debases the Catholic Church is good enough to warrant a positive review. The good news is that even after the New York Times flagged the play, only 39 people showed up to watch it.”
