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Southern Fried and Sanctified Fun
The hilarious Sister Myotis’s Bible Camp
Dame Edna she ain’t (Photo: Kim T. Sharp)
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An evening at bible camp doesn’t seem like a way most New Yorkers would choose to spend their free time. Sister Myotis, the founder of the Honeybees Ladies Auxiliary and queen mother of all zealots, is about to change all that. This satirical deaconess from the south is anything but typical. Brought to life by—no, not the Lord—actor and playwright Steve Swift, the Christian warrioress has recently mad her New York theater debut in Sister Myotis’s Bible Camp.
After his YouTube performances had gone viral with more than 2.6 million viewers, Swift decided to bring his popular character from Tennessee to the stage. The show is about a southern ministry that comes to rescue a city in desperate need of morality, a city none other than the “Big ‘ol Rotten Apple” (that’s you, New York).
As part of her divine intervention, Myotis informs the audience that what was originally only one night of bible camp will now be a weeklong Ladies Training Retreat. She announces, “Folks walking down 36th Street might think it’s theater going on in here…but we’ve got ‘em fooled! Never would they know of the righteous, Godly, battalion of Christian women girdin’ up their loins to be unleashed on this city.” It’s worth noting that an audience comprised of both sexes plays along with the fact that we are all women in need of instruction on how to live a good Christian lifestyle.
Assisting Myotis in her satirical mission to bring family values back to America are her dutiful assistants: Sister Ima Lone (Jenny Odle Madden) and Velma Needlemyer (Todd Berry). The trio supplies two hours of what feels like nonstop tongue and cheek commentary on conservative America. Swift’s writing tactfully lampoons church culture and mocks societal norms of women. Most noteworthy is Myotis’s take on the root of all moral decay in America: a lady’s decision to wear a thong panty, a veritable “fecal nightmare.”
An evening at Sister Myotis’s Bible Camp is sure to turn you into a faithful follower—of Steve Swift. The play is running from now until through July 4 at the Abingdon Theater Arts Complex’s Dorothy Strelsin Theater (312 W. 26th St.) for $25 per ticket. It is a worthwhile night of southern holier-than-though comedy in the heart of Manhattan. Can I get an Amen?