Diaper dramatist

At some point during each of the short plays that comprise Christopher Durang Explains It All, one is likely to echo the famous words of King Arthur, “What a strange person!” (That is, of course, the Graham Chapman King Arthur from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.)
Christopher Durang Explains It All marks the first-ever evening performance of Atlanta Classical Theatre, which for five seasons has been producing classic plays in Grant Park. Durang draws from a pool of about 20 sketches and short works, including Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, with a different lineup offered each night. Also, it’s playing in repertory with John Pielmeyer’s Agnes of God, suggesting that ACT is getting its money’s worth out of the habit costume.
The first act of Durang’s opening night performance featured several brief works akin to sketches from “Saturday Night Live” involving life in New York, dysfunctional families and political lampoons. (Subjects for other evenings shorts include spoofs of the Hardy Boys, Tennessee Williams and organized religion.)
The premises can be a little thin, such as the dateless women on a phone chat line in “1-900-DESPERATE” or the tangle of red tape of “DMV Tyrant” (a piece that has a glaring lack of a punchline). Most of Durang’s social commentary seems stuck in the 1980s, as “Entertaining Mr. Helms” has a scarily generic nuclear family saying the Pledge of Allegiance before breakfast. Pater (Topher Payne) gives his kids such instructions as, “Listen to your mother when she speaks of grammar and cooking.”
Either by luck or design, most of the selections for the opening night included antagonistic female authority figures, suggesting some Freudian issues for the playwright. The heroines of “1-900-DESPERATE” and “Woman Stand-Up” make a point of mentioning horrible mothers, and there’s also the unhelpful bureaucrat (Amanda Cucher) of “DMV Tyrant,” the inexplicably psychotic Mom (Couture) in “Naomi in the Living Room” and zealous Sister Mary Ignatius herself (Jackie Prucha).
The one play that doesn’t touch on a bad-mom dynamic may be the evening’s funniest sketch, “Funeral Parlor,” in which a grieving widow (Jessica Warren) is comforted by an oddball (Payne), who asks questions like, “Did he have any last words? Did he make any last noises?” Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You may be Durang’s most famous play, and while the cruelty and hypocrisy of school-teaching nuns may be a familiar target, the playwright’s genuine anger and religious uncertainty give it weight. Prucha regards the audience with glasses precariously balanced on the tip of her nose, lecturing on such points as mortal versus venial sins and giving cookies to her star student.
A quartet of former students appear to offer a whimsical nativity pageant (making Durang a holiday show, I guess) and then confront the sister. Sister Mary’s dogmatic beliefs are shaken when faced with the abortion, homosexuality and unwed motherhood in the lives of her one-time pupils, with Courtney Oliver’s Diane being especially full of righteous indignation.
Durang has an enjoyable cast, particularly the actresses, with Amanda Cucher showing some striking flexibility as the implacable “DMV Tyrant,” the maniacal “Naomi” and the self-loathing “Woman Stand-up,” whose unfunny attempts at comedy (which includes an inconsistent laugh track) only point to her own wretchedness. Courtney Oliver proves charismatically angry as a phone-line feminist and Diane in “Sister Mary,” although at times she plays too directly and forcefully to the audience, separating herself from her fellow players. Jessica Warren is effective at playing more “normal” roles that tend to be foils to the crazies.
From the scatology of “South Park” to the actual drama of the presidential impeachment, the past several years have made Durang’s religious and political irreverence seem dated and tame. Durang tends to hew close to the same themes, and critic Benedict Nightingale may have been onto something when he called him a “diaper dramatist” for his self-absorption. But if he’s no longer particularly shocking or challenging, he still knows a thing or two about cracking a joke, and Atlanta Classical Theatre brings some youthful energy to his explanations.
Christopher Durang Explains It All plays through Dec. 30 in repertory with Agnes of God at the 14th Street Playhouse, 173 14th St., with performances at 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. and 3 p.m. Sun. $10-$15. 404-685-8861. www.atlantaclassical.org.