Going Global
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That fall the show moved to the Organic, filling first the small Greenhouse and then the main stage, and eventually it wound up at the Ivanhoe, where it’s been doing strong business since January 1995. “We’ve already got bookings for December,” says Doug Bragan, the theater’s owner. (The show charged $8 a ticket at Live Bait, which doubled when it moved to the Organic; now it fetches $25 a seat.)
After moving to the Ivanhoe the show was spotted by Richard Ericson when he was flipping through a newspaper during a visit to Chicago. Ericson, a partner in the Rhode Island-based theatrical production company Fourquest Entertainment, saw the show, and with-in weeks he’d formed a subsidiary of Fourquest called Entertainment Events to license the show and pay Quade and Donovan a percentage of the weekly box office. “Richard was a real visionary in seeing the show’s potential,” says Tim Flaherty, an associate producer at Entertainment Events. “Because of its Catholic roots, the show has a tremendous built-in audience. But we try to make the show accessible to non-Catholics too.” Not only is Late Nite Catechism popular, it’s simple: with a cast of one and a set consisting of little more than a desk and lectern, it can be mounted in a variety of spaces, from a traditional proscenium stage to a black box to a church basement. “Besides,” adds Flaherty, “it’s a good clean show.”
