In May, a playhouse in the suburban Pittsburgh town of Cranberry, the Comtra Theatre, yielded to pressure and amended many parts of a script that the league found objectionable. The play, “Once a Catholic,” supposedly portrayed the confusion and awkwardness of Catholic schoolgirls who discovered their sexuality in the 1950s. But the script went far beyond any cute statement about the travails of puberty.
Parts of the play have young people discussing men who engage in anal sex and sex with camels. Other characters comment on a pope having sex with prostitutes, as well as his with own daughter, while still others remark about the practice of Mary’s husband, Joseph, who is said to have stirred his tea with his penis.
When the league was contacted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the play, immediate action was taken. William Donohue spoke to the woman who operates the club, Marie Teets, and demanded that the play either be canceled or that the script be substantially changed. Teets said she had already made some changes and that she would make any other changes that the league wanted.
Once the league obtained a copy of the script, Teets was contacted again. While she had already pulled much of what the league wanted withdrawn, there were still other parts that were objectionable. We are pleased to say that every part of the script that the league protested was removed.
The league is satisfied with the outcome.
