BishopAccountability.org
	Theater Review: 'Doubt' By Ed Kaufman Reuters [Los Angeles CA] March 15, 2005 LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Written by Bronx-born John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt" (a West Coast premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse) is compelling, absorbing and as current as yesterday's headlines as it attempts to deal with the nature of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. The story takes place at St. Nicholas Church School in the Bronx, 1964. Credit Gary L. Wissmann for the two rotating sets: the office of the principal and a garden courtyard in the parish. Alex Jaeger's costumes are fitting while Claudia Weill's direction is expert and savvy. As first we see Father Flynn, the engaging, warm-hearted and idealistic young priest (a commanding performance by Jonathan Cake), at the pulpit preaching about doubt as a necessity if we (or the Church) is to grow. Doubt isn't weakness; doubt brings about change which, Flynn argues, is vital and beneficial. When the scene changes, we are in the office of Sister Aloysius (the wonderful Linda Hunt), the elderly, cryptic, suspicious, calculating and tough-as-nails principal of St. Nicholas. She runs the school with a firm hand and is suspicious of Flynn's notion about "going out in the community and making believe that you are just one of the other folks." And so the conflict surfaces as Sister Aloysius, full of moral certainty, confronts Father Flynn (the outgoing apostle of doubt) for "befriending" a young male student. Unwittingly (and unwillingly), young idealistic history teacher Sister James (the convincing Mandy Freund) is brought into the fray as "witness." And the boy's mother, Mrs. Muller (Patrice Pitman Quinn is first-rate), confronts Sister Aloysius and offers her some street-smart advice. But Sister Aloysius will hear none of it and is hellbent to get Father Flynn and protect her students. And from this moment on, the battle rages between the two. Writer Shanley has crated "Doubt" like a mystery -- a religious whodunit. "Facts" are in the eye of the beholder. Ultimately, in dialogue that blends the poetic and the realistic (with bits of humor to lighten the load), Shanley asks whether Sister Aloysius is being overly protective or not protective enough, and whether Father Flynn's casual approach to his students has an evil intent. All is cast in the gray area of doubt -- and this is Shanley's point in his timely and engrossing play. Cast: Sister Aloysius: Linda Hunt; Father Flynn: Jonathan Cake; Sister James: Mandy Freund; Mrs. Muller: Patrice Pitman Quinn. Writer: John Patrick Shanley; Director: Claudia Weill; Set designer: Gary L. Wissmann; Costume designer: Alex Jaeger; Lighting designer: Jeremy Pivnick. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.