Since when is the first step toward sainthood to have a musical written about you?
ROME -- There are many ways to celebrate the elevation of Mother Teresa toward sainthood.
Nuns in blue-trimmed white habits have flooded this city ahead of today's papal Mass in her honor. Street vendors are hawking Mother Teresa statues and Mother Teresa refrigerator magnets. Exhibits have been opened chronicling Mother Teresa's life, complete with her sandals, her gold Nobel peace prize medal and, starting next week, a vial of her blood.
And then there is Mother Teresa, the Musical.
In the hit play that opened last week to sold-out performances, nuns sway to rousing pop-rock tunes, bare-chested men representing Calcutta "untouchables" writhe in jazzy dance numbers, and Mother Teresa does a sort of "deus ex machina," descending to stage from above.
Never mind that this Mother Teresa is a blond 23-year-old Italian. She belts out songs with the best of them, telling audiences to love God and keep the faith.
Somewhere, the real Mother Teresa is spinning in her grave....
