After killing the Pope and the eunuch in the middle of a hostage crisis, the radical New Jersey nun bent down on stage and stole the Holy Father’s tiara.

The audience laughed. The madness continued.

The collision of comedy and controversy Friday at the opening of the Charleston Alley Theatre was all part of the theater’s premiere of “Three One Act Plays by Christopher Durang” directed by Charleston resident and veteran CAT actress Marie Jozwiak.

Jozwiak said one of the first plays she performed when she joined up with the CAT theater in 2003 was a work by Durang.

“Ever since then I’ve been hooked on Durang,” Jozwiak said. “I enjoy that kind of tongue in cheek humor that pushes the limit.”

The audience that was present at the show’s opening seemed to enjoy the three short plays, Jozwiak said.

“I did hear laughter,” she said. “And I didn’t see anyone running away in shame.”

The night began innocently enough with a fictional portrayal of Durang’s alleged aunt as the title character in a monologue titled “Mrs. Sorken” played by Linda Bagger, who doled out trivia and minutia directed at understanding drama.

Among her theories includes a connection between drama and the nausea suppressant Dramamine.

“We go to the drama seeking the metaphorical Dramamine that will cure us of our nausea of life,” Bagger said, in character as Mrs. Sorken. “Of course we sometimes become nauseated by the drama itself, and then we are sorry we went, especially if it uses the F-word and lasts over four hours.”

Bagger, who played the least controversial role of the night, said she understood the appeal of Durang’s plays and hopes audiences will give him a chance.

“They’re an acquired taste, they’re not everybody’s cup of tea,” Bagger said. “I recommend everyone give him a try.”

Soon after Bagger was applauded off the stage, new actors took their places on a kitchen set for the domestic quasi comedy “The Nature and Purpose of the Universe”.

In it, Victoria Bennett plays Eleanor Mann, the downtrodden wife of a hard line Catholic and mother to three unappreciative children who abuse and mistreat her as they see fit.

At the center of the Eleanor’s problem is God, who the play’s narrator said has agents that do everything to the housewife from rape to infuse her with a false hope of salvation.

Alexis Evans, who plays God’s agent acting as the radical Sister Annie De Maupassant, said she thought the play received an expected mixed reception due to its author and subject matter.

“I think having Durang playing to any audience you’re going to have people say ‘What the hell?’,” Evans said. “Be prepared to be shocked and pleasantly uncomfortable.”

The show closed with one last one act also focused on a family, called “Death Comes to Us All, Mary Agnes.”

The ensemble play depicted a dysfunctional family brought together by the eminent death of their patriarch.

Like “The Nature and Purpose”, “Death Comes” also breached uncomfortable topics ranging from incest to elder abuse, but not without purpose.

“You can look at both of them as having a love theme to them,” Jozwiak said. “Really the shows are about humor and comedy and creating this whole new aspect about how we should view the world.”

Jozwiak said she was proud of the CAT for staging such diverse material all year around, and looked forward to their future productions.

“Our goal is to have that artistic freedom,” Jozwiak said. “We don’t want to feel like we can’t do something for mature audiences.”

The CAT’s “Three One-Act Plays by Christopher Durang” will continue February 10-13.

Andrew Crivilare can be reached at 581-2812 or ajcrivilare@eiu.edu.