To Forgive, Divine

The photo above is from the 1993 production of the play at New Century Theatre, featuring Sam Rush and Cate Damon.

This is the play that was purchased a couple of years ago by Walt Disney Pictures. I still have hopes that one day the studio will thrust its "Star De Jour" into a priest’s cassock and make the movie. The play is a surprising little dramedy/farce that speaks to a belief close to my heart: Catholics Are People Too.

Father Jerry Dolan is a genial parish priest, dealing well with the pressures and responsibilities of a job not often appreciated for its demanding workload. One Saturday afternoon, as he hears confessions, Katie Cachencko, a young parishioner with whom has worked on various community projects, arrives with something on her mind, and the only way she can get it off her mind is to confess it to him. The confession is one of the wildest on record and results in both Jerry and Katie revealing their strong, illicit feelings for each other. By the time the afternoon is over, Jerry has confronted Katie’s husband, Ralph, a brute with a brain who is not put off by Jerry’s collar as he investigates his wife’s skittish behavior of late. If I were to tell you that a high school wrestling match between Jerry and Ralph is recalled and replayed in the confession room, would you believe me?

Cast:

Jerry Dolan, early thirties

Katie Cachencko, early thirties

Ralph Cachencko, early thirties

Milly Mullin, fifties to seventies

Margaret Crowley, early teens

Setting:

The sacristy of a Roman Catholic Church

Press:

"Neary is a Catholic Neil Simon. (He) adroitly balances laughter and pathos in a story whose ending is lovely, sensible and satisfying." Arthur Friedman, The Boston Herald

"Hilarious and touching. Neary has an ear for one-liners and colloquial language. It’s like ‘The Big Chill in the Church,’ and by the end of the play, the characters have faced the ghosts of their childhood, revealing their vulnerability in the process. It’s about a journey toward self-discovery. The characters’ hopes and fears are universal. In the end, they learn that to err is human, and TO FORGIVE is simply divine." Patti Hartigan, the Boston Globe

"Neary has a flair for lively, often funny dialogue..." Variety

"While the humor in TO FORGIVE, DIVINE has a Catholic base, it is universal enough to appeal to all audiences because its theme of reconciliation reaches beyond a single creed. The pull between secular and spiritual love is the center of Neary’s attention. The friction between the two elicits comic sparks and asks us to consider both types of love...Neary isn’t so much interested in lambasting the church for its shortcomings as he is in depicting the role that it plays in its characters’ lives...The characters in Neary’s neighborhood may err now and again, but, in his view, forgiveness and laughter are truly divine." Cliff Gallo, the Los Angeles Reader.