To the Editor:
I read with interest your column “Enter the Wau Wau” [8/06]. When grown men dress as nuns and do a dance, the usual forum is the asylum. But then I read your comment, “Communion wafers, cigarettes, and a chalice were all employed as props in a piece that ended with a profane reenactment of the crucifixion. The crowd hooted and roared.” This suggests that something other than delirium is at work.
Do you have any idea how utterly predictable the crowd’s reaction was? What else would you expect from Bard’s Spiegeltent gang? To be sure, these are profoundly alienated men and women, and no doubt your contribution offered them fleeting relief. But the truth of the matter is that there is no escaping reality, even where you live.
At the end of the day, the savants you entertained must learn to cope with their maladies, and surely you must learn to do the same. Prayer helps—it’s a great elixir. Try it.
William A. Donohue, Manhattan
President, Catholic League
This article appears in September 2007.
