“Christmas Bingo: It’s a Ho-Ho-Holy Night” story by Julia W. Rath

When you think of fundraising in Catholic churches, the first thing that comes to mind is bingo. But first, a confession: I enjoyed playing bingo as a child, but as an adult, not so much. People take the game much too seriously and covet the money and prizes. So what I liked most about “Christmas Bingo: It’s a Ho-Ho-Holy Night” was that the bingo games were conducted in a lighthearted spirit, interspersed with stories about Santa Claus, songs about Christmas, and quizzes about religion.

Using the backdrop of a Catholic school classroom decorated for the holidays, “Christmas Bingo” is a fun, sweet, and sentimental show, starring writer and director Vicki Quade as former nun and teacher Mrs. Mary Margaret O’Brien. Dating from 2013, the show was originally videotaped before a live audience at the Royal George Theatre, Chicago, for the purpose of serving as a historical piece and memento. At the time the recording was made, nobody could have imagined that it would be resurrected from the archive of Nuns for Fun Entertainment and shown in lieu of a live performance during the Christmas season of 2020. But COVID-19 had other ideas. Since the cast and crew were not able to do a live production this year, offering this past performance on Vimeo would have to suffice.

Considering that the original show was meant to be interactive, upfront, and personal—and the video never meant to be released to the public—it would be unfair to judge the raw footage taken in 2013 on the basis of its content and technical quality. In real life, bingo provides a means of socializing with other people, but observing it being played by others on film is not exactly the same thing. We might have wanted to intermingle with those on stage or with our friends, family, and neighbors in the live audience, but we can’t do that. However, if you are the sort of person who enjoys watching audience members being called on and brought up on stage without participating yourself, then this show might work for you. Having said that, the best parts are when Mrs. O’Brien tells stories; for example, I particularly loved the one where she relates the Christmas episode of the TV program “Dragnet.”

Then there are some technical issues need to be mentioned. Taping a distance away using a nearly stationery camera and attached microphone adds to some detachment we may feel as viewers. We see children and adults laughing, making comments, and sometimes getting prizes, but we don’t always see their faces. The patter plays to those in the house but not to those viewing remotely. When the live audience laughs or reacts, we don’t always catch what is being said on stage, because the microphone is in the audience! By not fully hearing the give-and-take among all the participants, we lose the freshness of the entertainment and the spontaneity of responses. Sometimes I had to rerun portions of the video stream in order to make out various remarks. The pickup did get a bit better over the course of the show, but clearly the videographer (Robert Quade) was not meant to be there as a professional.

I especially liked the introduction to the video when Vicki Quade explains that a portion of each ticket will be donated to the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago and their retirement fund and to pay the actors and stage managers who have worked on the show. “Thank you for keeping the arts in business,” she says. Maxwell Mortenson, the introductory videographer, and editor Joe Vecchio also need to be thanked for their roles in delivering the internet version to remote viewers. In all, we are grateful to see a show that can provide us with some amount of pleasure during these very difficult and uncertain times and can allow us to reminisce… if only for a moment… about our own personal past, perhaps being a student in Catholic school or attending church or Bible classes. Perhaps it was in church that we played our first game of bingo!

The point behind the 2013 story “Christmas Bingo: It’s a Ho-Ho-Holy Night” was to raise money for (the fictional) Our Lady of Good Fortune Catholic Church. But the point of replaying this production to a 2020 online audience is to disseminate a message that is timeless and is summed up by the ending: “Take the holiday spirit out into the world. Say hello to somebody; say Merry Christmas to your neighbor.”

In an era of COVID
When we can’t leave the house,
The theaters stay empty
It’s so sad to announce.

With statistics that play
To our dread and our fear,
We crave to see Santa
With his sleigh and reindeer.

Since we’d like to return
To times shiny and bright,
Let us shout from the rafters:
“Merry Christmas to All
And to all a good night!”

“Christmas Bingo: It’s a Ho-Ho-Holy Night” will be streamed on Vimeo from November 27 through December 27, 2020.

Tickets are $20 through Ticketleaf.com.

For more information, contact Nuns for Fun Entertainment, Inc.
info@nuns4fun.com or call 773-388-0730.

Check out  www.nuns4fun.com to learn more about this and other shows. A portion of all ticket sales will be for the retirement fund of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.