Hobart and William Smith Colleges · Staged reading · Tue Nov 3, 2026

Mass Drag

How the Church Blessed Gay Love… Again. Everything the cast needs in one place: the schedule, your roles, the script and score, the recordings, the video, and what to wear.

The Gathering

When and where

Wed Oct 28
5:00 to 7:00 pm
Online group rehearsal on Zoom, about 90 minutes. Join the Zoom meeting (zoom.us/j/6176768864).
Tue Nov 3
4:30 to 6:30 pm
In-person rehearsal, Bartlett Theater, Coxe Hall, HWS
Tue Nov 3
6:30 to 7:30 pm
Break to eat and change, on campus
Tue Nov 3
7:30 pm
The Reading, about 70 minutes, then a conversation with the audience. Coxe Hall, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York
Getting therePark in the Medbury lot (it fills up, so circle if you need to). Walk south onto the Quad. Coxe Hall is on the west side, and Bartlett Theater is straight ahead inside the front doors.

The Sisters

The Hobart cast

The Sisters of the Blessed Canon. Sister Donna Wanna-Noh is spoken of all night and never seen. Everyone reads with script in hand, and singing is always optional.

  • Sister MaggieYan Pang

    The Historian. Keeper of The Book of Newman; plays Newman in the love scenes. Low solo in “The Ballad of the Empty Grave.”

    pang@hws.edu
  • Sister Anita BlessingCameron Smith

    The Provocateur and emcee. The largest role; leads every “Bless this mess!”

    cameron.smith@hws.edu
  • Sister MercyReagan De La Cruz

    The Tender One, the heart of the show. Opens “We Break This Bread” with a solo.

    reagan.delacruz@hws.edu
  • Sister TommyTionbre “Tea” Austin ’30

    The Skeptic, the novice. Her arc is the audience’s arc. Sings alone at the end of the show.

    tionbre.austin@hws.edu
  • Sister Jude the ObscureMuira Kreher

    The Mystic. Few words that carry weight; chants “Cor ad Cor Loquitur.”

    muira.kreher@hws.edu
  • Stage Directions ReaderCJ Luna

    Our eyes in the room. Reads the italic stage directions plainly and briefly, then gets out of the way.

    cl1710@hws.edu

The Readings

Script, score and video

Start with the video, then read the script once for the story and once for your own lines.

The full performanceThe complete Rochester Fringe production on YouTube, about 70 minutes. Watch it all the way through before the first rehearsal.Watch on YouTube → The reading scriptThe Hobart staged reading edition, with stand and sit cues. Only dialogue, lyrics and lines marked READER are spoken aloud; italics and bracketed cues are silent.Open the PDF → The complete vocal scoreAll eleven numbers in notation, for singers and anyone who reads music. Optional if you sing by ear.Open the PDF → The audience song bookEvery lyric, with the Sister who sings each line. The audience gets a printed copy on Tuesday, so you will see what they see.Open the PDF → The Annotated ReaderThe full script with the history and scholarship behind each scene. Optional, and the best place to go deeper.Open the PDF →

The Hymns

Song recordings, in show order

Recordings courtesy of the Rochester Fringe cast: Dino Kolios (Maggie), Sean Scott (Anita), Tim Stuff (Mercy), Dylan Burley (Tommy) and Terry Quataert (Jude). Cleaned up from the live Fringe recordings. Learn your parts with these, and we will play the same tracks in the room on Tuesday. They are live recordings from a bar, so follow along with the song book when a word is unclear.

  1. 1

    We Are the Church They Couldn’t Kill

    Processional

    Everyone · a verse each for Maggie, Anita, Mercy, Tommy, Jude

    Open file
  2. 2

    Bless This Mess

    Call and response

    Anita calls · Everyone answers

    Open file
  3. 3

    The Brother-Making Song

    Sergius and Bacchus

    Mercy · Anita · Maggie + Tommy · Jude

    Open file
  4. 4

    Cor ad Cor Loquitur

    Chant

    Jude · then all the Sisters

    Open file
  5. 5

    The Ballad of the Empty Grave

    The grave

    Maggie (low solo) · Anita · Jude · Mercy · Everyone

    Open file
  6. 6

    Bless This Mess (Praise Break)

    Reprise

    Anita calls · Everyone answers

    Open file
  7. 7

    Holy Matrimony

    Hymn

    Jude · Maggie · Mercy · Anita

    Open file
  8. 8

    We Break This Bread

    Communion

    Mercy (opening solo) · Maggie · Jude · Anita · Tommy · Everyone

    Open file
  9. 9

    We Are the Church They Couldn’t Kill

    Recessional

    Anita starts · a verse for all five · Tommy sings alone at the end

    Open file
  10. 10

    Holy Matrimony

    Curtain call

    Everyone

    Open file

“The Naming” has no track. It is spoken over quiet music, and the audience answers each name with “Present.”

The Book of Witness

The Annotated Reader

The companion book to the show: the complete script, with every historical claim annotated, plus a set of readings that tell the stories behind the scenes. It is written to be read by anyone, from first-year students to scholars. Nothing in it is required for Tuesday, and you can read as much as you like.

Each annotation carries a reliability marker, so you can tell what is documented from what is interpretation, and what is the Sisters’ own legend:

  • V verified, from a primary source
  • S supported by scholarly consensus
  • I interpretation
  • D disputed
  • C Chapter Tradition, the Sisters’ own legend

The readings in Part IV, with the scene each one belongs to:

  • Scene 3
    The Church Made BrothersAdelphopoiesis and the brother-making rites: what the surviving manuscripts actually say.
  • Scene 3
    The Same Hands BurnedThe same hands that blessed brothers also burned men for sodomy.
  • Scene 4
    The Love StoryJohn Henry Newman, Ambrose St. John, and thirty-two years of letters.
  • Scene 5
    The DigThe empty grave: what was opened, what was found, and what was said about it.
  • Scene 6
    The NamesThe AIDS years, the Church, Hart Island, and why the litany of names matters.
  • Scene 8
    The BlessingThe Vatican’s 2023 decision to bless same-sex couples, again.
  • The score
    The Song That Cannot Be UnsungA reading about the score and the songs.
  • The Chapter
    The Truth About Sister Donna Wanna-NohThe saint who is never seen, and what the Chapter says about her.
  • A guest reading
    The Queer Bro Apostolic SuccessionAn essay contributed by a guest writer.

The book also has a bibliography, a historical timeline, a glossary of liturgical and theological terms, and the Rule of the Sisters of the Blessed Canon. Open the PDF.

The Habits

What to wear

Jim is bringing nun habits, so you do not need to find one. If you would like to work out your own look from what you see in the video and the photos below, that would be wonderful. Anchor it in your character, and keep it simple enough to move in. If you plan anything you cannot undo, like hair or piercings, check with Jim first.

  • MaggieLibrarian meets Mother Superior. Reading glasses on a chain, pockets full of index cards, sensible shoes. She carries The Book of Newman.
  • AnitaThe most extravagant: towering wimple, rhinestones, a rosary that doubles as a lasso, and a small black fan she snaps for punctuation.
  • MercySimple and beautiful. More Grace Kelly than showgirl, a habit that moves like a gown. She carries the cloth.
  • TommyThe novice: white veil, white lips from her own white lipstick tube, and far more glitter than strictly necessary. She carries the stool.
  • JudeThe most nun-like of the five, almost passing as the real thing. She keeps the vigil candle.

Short on time? Black or dark clothes are plenty. Optional extras: a touch of glitter, a white or red lip, a wimple-ish scarf.

All five Sisters standing together after the show, some in black with veils, one in a long white habit and veil.
The five Sisters together, Rochester Fringe premiere.
Sister Tommy in a long white habit and white veil with sparkle, holding a small tube in front of her face.
Sister Tommy, the novice: white veil, white lips, glitter.
Sister Anita in a sparkling dark gown and black veil, standing full length on a stage.
Sister Anita: sparkle and presence.
Sister Mercy in a black habit with a white collar, lace sleeves, and long beaded rosaries, holding a tube of lipstick.
Sister Mercy: rosaries, lace, and the lipstick.
Sister Maggie in a dark robe and veil with round glasses, holding a decorated red book against her chest.
Sister Maggie: glasses, robe, and the Book of Newman.
Sister Jude in a black habit with a white collar and a gray beard, holding a lit candle.
Sister Jude: the most nun-like, with the vigil candle.
Three Sisters standing in a row on a stage in dark habits and veils.
Habits, veils and simple dark layers read well from the back row.
Sisters at the front of a bar room in front of a seated audience, one holding a white cloth, one reading from a book.
The Sisters among the congregation.

Photos from the Rochester Fringe premiere at the Biltmore, September 2026.

The Announcements

Know before you go

  • It is a reading. Scripts in hand, nothing to memorize. Mostly seated or standing at music stands, with a few simple moves we will set at rehearsal: the processional, Tommy’s stool, the blessing chain.
  • The audience is the congregation. They sing the refrains, answer “Present” during the Naming, and pass a blessing hand to hand. Your job is to lead them, not only to read to them.
  • Singing is optional. The songs play from recordings. Sing along, speak the words over the track, or stand with the Sisters. All three work. Each Sister has one verse of the opening hymn, which you can sing or speak.
  • Play it straight. Camp is welcome, but the comedy lands best when the stakes are real. Say the line, mean it, and let it land.
  • Bring: your marked script, a pencil and water. Highlight your lines and your cues, which are the line just before yours.
  • Provided: the Book of Newman, a candle, a stool, a cloth, a stole, a black fan, a white lipstick, a red lipstick and a strip of PRESENT stickers.
  • Say the hard words ahead of time. Adelphopoiesis, Cor ad cor loquitur, Fiducia Supplicans. We will go over them at rehearsal.
  • Content note. The show is affectionate, funny and serious in turns. It includes sharp satire of Church officials, campy innuendo, frank discussion of burnings for sodomy and of the AIDS epidemic, and a spoken litany of names of people who died. One scene is an angry generational argument between two Sisters. If any line does not sit right for you, tell Jim and we will talk it through.

Mass Drag · Fringe

The Original Cast

The world premiere at the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival 2026, The Biltmore Bar & Lounge, Rochester, New York. September 15 to 18, sold out.

  • Sister MaggieDino Kolios
  • Sister AnitaSean Scott
  • Sister MercyTim Stuff
  • Sister TommyDylan Burley
  • Sister JudeTerry Quataert
  • Swing and Assistant DirectorPaul Scheib
  • Music Director and ArrangementsKatherine Snelling
  • Book, Music, Lyrics and DirectionJames Lopata
  • SoundDan Lopata
  • Costume DesignTim Stuff
  • Costume DonationsThanks to Paul Scheib
  • Music EngraverJuan Pablo Oyola
  • VenueJacob Rakovan, The Biltmore

Produced by The Newman Project, James Lopata, Executive Producer, with the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival 2026.

Special thanks: Paul Scheib, Rev. Sam Kinsman, Tim Powers, Shane Kramer, Edgar Rodriguez, Matt Bereza, Sean Guerin, Andy Cirillo and the Rochester Gay Men’s Chorus.

Contact

Questions?

Jim Lopata

Director, and author of the book, music and lyrics

jalopata@gmail.com 617-676-8864

Your hosts at Hobart and William Smith Colleges:

Richard Salter, Religious Studies salter@hws.edu Michelle Martin-Baron, PhD, Chair, Gender, Sexuality and Intersectional Justice mmartinbaron@hws.edu

Mass Drag: book, music and lyrics by James Lopata. Arrangements by Katherine Snelling.

© 2026 James Lopata. All rights reserved.