dressed as St. Joseph, The Virgin Mary, and two halves of a camel. The four remind Sister that she had asked them to come in and perform the pageant they once performed in her class. After the pageant, it becomes apparent that the four have strayed from her teaching; Diane has had two abortions (the first one from a rape at age 18), Philomena is an unwed mother, Aloysisus is an alcoholic who beats his wife and is thinking about suicide, and Gary is gay. They reveal that they were never asked to come in and merely wanted to embarrass Sister. They each have their own reason for hating her; Aloysius was refused bathroom privileges frequently and now has bladder problems, Philomena recalls being hit by Sister for being a poor student, Gary is there on behalf of his boyfriend Jeff, and Diane had believed Sister until her world came crashing down when her mother died of breast cancer and she was raped the same day. Diane reveals that she has brought a gun to kill Sister, something the other three were not aware of. Sister grabs a gun from behind her lectern and shoots Diane in self-defense. She also shoots Gary, proclaiming that she has sent him to heaven, as he went to confession earlier that day. She then points the gun at Aloysius, who needs to go to the bathroom, before handing it to Thomas to take a nap. The play ends with Thomas pointing the gun at Aloysius while explaining the perfections of God, Diane and Gary's dead bodies on the floor, and Sister asleep. Reception Frank Rich of New York Times wrote, "only a writer of real talent can write an angry play that remains funny and controlled even in its most savage moments. Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You confirms that Christopher Durang is just such a writer". Lynn Trenning of Art Savant wrote that "the script is brilliant in its grasp of the ironic inconsistencies between Catholic doctrine and practical reality" while noting in her review of the original off Broadway production by the Off-Tryon Theatre Company that the lead's "too gentle demeanor failed to convince me she was the Sister Mary Ignatius who terrified children into obedience". The play's stark criticism of Catholicism eventually led to controversy. Some conservative Catholics were offended by the play's stereotyping, and in St. Louis and