Colleen Moore gets back into the habit as Sister in "Late Nite Catechism," through Feb. 15, Bucks County Playhouse (BCP), New Hope.

"I've been playing Sister for 15 years. She's under my skin at this point," Moore says in a phone interview from her residence in New York City.

Moore holds forth in the traditional Roman Catholic tunic and cowl in the one-woman, audience-participation comedy about a fictitious nun. The show was written by Vicki Quade and Maript Donovan (who originated the role of Sister in 1993).

The irrepressible Sister teaches an adult catechism class to a roomful of "students" (the audience). During the play, Sister goes from benevolent instructor, rewarding the "students" for correct answers with glow-in-the-dark rosaries and laminated saint cards, to authoritative drill sergeant.

"There's no fourth wall. There's a lot of interaction between sister and the classroom, aka the audience. I ask them questions. I give out prizes."

A question and answer portion is in the second act of the two-hour (including a 15-minute intermission) show.

Moore is sensitive to those who are audience participation-disinclined.

"If they're sitting there, looking at their shoes, you leave them alone," she laughs.

While the Q&A may be unscripted, the show is not.

"It's definitely a scripted show, but we do have to go off script and improvise all the time.

"Sister tries to keep it as popular and relevant as possible. If there's something going on locally, I always ask the venue to clue me in on it because it's going to come up in the Q and A."

Audience members' sharing their experiences of growing up Catholic and attending parochial school is near and dear to Moore, who was taught by Sisters of the Holy Cross at Blessed Sacrament School and at St. Mary's Catholic High School, Alexandria, Va.

"There were fewer than 100 girls in my graduating class. Neither school exists today. That's very sad," says Moore.

"It's happening all the over the country. And that's really sad. Because the Catholic schools represent the high bars as far as education goes."

Funds from "Late Nite Catechism" are said to support retired nuns in need. When Social Security was implemented in the United States, the Catholic Church opted out for nuns. This has since changed and Social Security is in place.

However, the raising of funds for a local monastery is offered to each presenting organization. A collection is usually taken at the end of the performance. As of December 2012, the "Late Nite Catechism" is said to have collected more than $2 million for retired Sisters.

"I collect for retired nuns after the show. There's a huge need for the older sisters," says Moore, who has collected for the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. "Sister Sheila and I have been buds there for many years."

"Late Nite Catechism" is produced by New-York based Entertainment Events, Inc., which also produces "Sister Strikes Again!: Late Nite Catechism 2," "'Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3," "Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold" and "Sister's Easter Catechism: Will My Bunny Go To Heaven?"

It's Moore's first time at BCP, but not the first time she's set foot in the legendary theater. "I went there [BCP] once to see 'Mame' when I was doing a production out at Solebury School."

Moore has played the role of Sister in national tours and off-Broadway for several years. She's taken her habit, you might say, to Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and the Midwest

"There are seven different shows that feature Sister and the same kind of set-up. I do five of the seven," Moore says.

A review in The New York Times stated: "Late Nite Catechism speaks to an audience much broader than the membership of any one church."

Says Moore, "A religions nun in a habit is iconic at this point. The audience is Boomers and up. All denominations resonate to the material.

"I've played to lots of Protestants and Jews. They see that full-figure nun and it engenders terror," she laughs.

"I'll walk into the classroom, the theater, and it's funny to see 50-, 60- and 70-year-old men become nine-year-olds.

"A lot of the jokes are predictable. But it's fun because we're all cut from the same cloth."