A Mardis Gras M**der Mystery in Verse: Sonnez Les Matines

"There's been a M**der! A M**der most foul!
At least in this play that's a hoot and a howl."

Come to the World Premiere of a Mardis Gras Mystery this March 4

In folk cultures around the world, but especially in New Orleans here in the U.S., "Fat Tuesday" is the last day before Ash Wednesday and the long Lenten fast begins. Join us and playwright and poet Jane Clark Scharl to experience another wonderful Zoom production by our gifted Theater Director-in-Residence, Ruth Pe Palileo.

What happens when Protestant thunder Jean Calvin meets up with soldier of Christ Ignatius of Loyola one night--with bawdy Rabelais thrown into the mix?

"Written by Jane Clark Scharl of Detroit,
With Ruth Palileo's direction adroit
The play is in verse, set in France in the past
With Calvin, Ignatius and Rabelais the cast
A life has been taken! Blood has been spilt!
One of them did it: Who holds the guilt?!
We'll tell you who pulled off this crime most horrific
On Tuesday March 4th at 8:00 East (5:00 Pacific)
We'll read from the play for three fourths of an hour
Then you can come pick at the writer's brain power
So come join in the fun in our Zoom arena
And see the new play "Sonnez Les Matines."

Register today to receive the Zoom link. Your gifts of $25 or more (or less!) helps us sustain the work of energizing a Catholic culture of the arts and pays for the digital marketing costs so we can invite more Catholics and others to join the circle of supporters. Thank-you!

If you cannot or choose not to give, please register come as we want you to be part of this great pre-Lenten celebration with the world premiere of a new work of art by a wonderful poet.

About Sonnez Les Matines: A verse play published by Wiseblood Books

One Mardi Gras night in 1520s Paris, college students Jean Calvin (founder of Calvinism and autocratic ruler of Geneva), Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Counter-Reformation Catholic religious order, the Jesuits), and their bawdy friend Francois Rabelais (the humanist novelist) find themselves mixed up in a gruesome M**der—and any one of them might be guilty. Before the bells ring in the start of Lent, they must confront the darkest parts of their souls and find the courage to pursue truth in a world that seems intent on obscuring it.

Calvin's blank verse toys with despair as he wrestles with doubts about the goodness of God and the possibility of freedom; Ignatius commands situations in clipped iambic tetrameter, revealing his background as a disciplined soldier, while his passion for order shows through in frequent alliteration; and Rabelais dances around with iambic rhyming couplets, cracking profane, bawdy jokes that unexpectedly become profound meditations on the mysteries of God, creation, and grace.

Praise for Sonnez Les Matines

"Sonnez Les Matines goes past dusty exegesis to give us a real play of ideas: as the trio marvel at a dead body in their midst, it’s in the realm of action, not words, that their philosophical differences are teased out." -The New Criterion

"By turns energetic, hilarious, and profound, Sonnez Les Matines reclothes religious history’s dry bones in the muscle and gristle of living." -Maryann Corbett, author of multiple poetry collections, including Mid Evil (2014), the winner of the Richard Wilbur Award.

Purchase your copy here: Sonnez Les Matines, by J.C. Scharl.

About J.C. Scharl

Jane Clark Scharl is an American poet, playwright, and critic.Her poetry has appeared in many American and European outlets, including the BBC, The Hopkins Review, The New Ohio Review, The Hudson Review, The American Journal of Poetry, The Lamp, Measure Review, and others. Her criticism has appeared in Dappled Things, Fare Forward, Plough Quarterly, and others. Her verse drama , was published by Wiseblood Books in February 2023. Her debut poetry collection, , was released by Wipf & Stock Publishers in April 2024. She lives in Detroit with her husband and children.

About Ruth Pe Palileo

Ruth Pe Palileo (Playwright/Director) is from Antique, Philippines and writes and directs for Current Theatrics in Las Vegas/New York and Pintig Cultural Group in Chicago. She also serves as Associate Book Review Editor for Stage Directors and Choreographers’ Journal. Ruth has a Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance from Trinity College, Dublin and her directing credits include Letters from the Lazaretto of Moloka'i (2022) and Malcolm & Theresa (2021) for the Benedict XVI Institute; P/Faerie Tale (Dublin 2019); the immersive Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (Vegas 2018), an adaptation of Hugo-award winning Tim Powers’ time travel novel The Anubis Gates (London 2014), Ionesco’s The Chairs (Best Production of 2011, Las Vegas Citylife), Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog (Chicago 2011) , Neil Gaiman's Troll Bridge (2010) and The Passion of Christ According to Mark (Church of Ireland, Dublin 2010). A documentary of The Passion was nominated for a 2011 Jerusalem Award. AMDG

Host or Publisher Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music & Divine Worship