A holiday mystery

"Sister's Christmas Catechism," with audience interaction, musical highlights and the irrepressible Sister, ends this Sunday at the Shea's Smith Theatre.

The hilarious comedy "Sister's Christmas Catechism, The Mystery of the Magi's Gold," concludes this Sunday, Dec. 23 at the Shea's Smith Theatre.

In this latest addition by Maripat Donovan to the "Late Nite Catechism" series, Sister employs techniques from her favorite TV show, "Forensic Files," to discover the whereabouts of the Magi's gold. As she points out in her hilarious opening, "We know what happened to the myrrh and the frankincense - Mary used them as a sort of potpourri. They were in a barn after all. But who was the culprit who made off with the gold coins and left Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus in the stable without any chance to upgrade to a suite?"

Forensic tools in hand, Sister creates a living nativity using audience members dressed as the Holy Family, magi, shepherds, sheep and cattle. She then sets the stage for the crime by directing a local choir in songs of the season that are sure to add even more clues to her investigation.

Performances are at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, and 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 23 at the Shea's Smith Theatre, 658 Main St., Buffalo.

Tickets are $35 and $40 and are available at the Shea's ticket office, 650 Main St., through Ticketmaster at 852-5000, or online at www.ticketmas ter.com. Group discounts are available by calling 829-1154. For more information, visit www. sheas. org.