One of the pre-show things you can do is answer a few questions about your relationship with Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ. For those of us who are not Christian, Mary might not have that much meaning outside of songs we might have learned as kids and hear every Christmas. I think of “Silent Night” but growing up in Southern California, it’s hard to ignore the iconography of the Virgin of Guadalupe and learning European and North American art history, the visual image of Mary is always present.

Boston Court’s “Mariology” is about the study of Mary and according to Merriam-Webster, mariology is the “study or doctrine relating to the Virgin Mary.”  As a play, “Mariology” is not only from the viewpoint of a Jewish American girl who attended Catholic school as did the director/playwright Nancy Keystone, but also from the experiences of many people including the actors on stage.  That makes this play feel scattered but I don’t believe you’ll leave unmoved.

The play focuses in on the 5th grade class at the Holy Virgin School in the academic year of 1973-1974. Remember chalk and chalkboards? If you don’t, you may be in for a shock about the low-tech days of the 1970s.  As part of the school’s tradition, the class puts on a pageant about Mary, but this won’t be heavy. Visually, the levity starts with the cast which includes men play a Mary. There’s Mary Amir (Amir Levi), Mary Frances (Fran de Leon), Mary Gabriela (Gabriela Bonet), Mary Lorne (Lorne Green), Mary Russell (Russell Edge) and Mary Valerie (Valerie Spencer). The play is mostly in English with a smattering of Spanish. While new girl gets some mild hate, they eventually settle down although not everyone is on board with the mantra that “the faults of a female can be corrected” and girls are the “Devil’s dark gateway.” One of the girls decides she wants to be a boy because she’s told that only men can become priests and she wants to be a priest.

The play touches on the harsh punishment that was sometime dealt out. Some of us lived through that time which was particularly newsworthy in California.

Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, was about 20. She was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army from her Berkeley apartment and held for 19 months, from 4 February 1974 to 18 September 1975). During that time, she became a fugitive after committing some serious crimes, including robbing a bank. Hearst was convicted in 1976. Then President Jimmy Carter commuted Hearst’s federal sentence and she was released on 1 February 1979. President Bill Clinton granted her a pardon in 2001.

As with most Boston Court productions, this play stimulates discussion. The program states that Keystone created this in collaboration with Critical Mass Performance Group so you have many people’s lived experiences to consider. If you read all of the material in the lobby, fill out the questionnaire and look at all of the different depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, you’ll already be thinking about the different aspects one historic person can mean to an individual, particularly in terms of systems of gender, power and personal agency. Some questions will be answered in the last scene that brings all the characters back together 50 years later.

“Mariology” helps you begin the holiday season in a thoughtful mode and you don’t have to be Christian to enjoy it. At the very least, people who remember the Patty Hearst can talk about their memories, but hopefully, you’ll get some insight into the Christian celebration of Mary, particularly during the upcoming holidays.  The play continues at Boston Court in Pasadena until 7 December 2025.  The play is recommended for ages 16 and up. For tickets and more information, visit BostonCourtPasadena.org