THEATER: Doubt: A Parable

We really appreciate the fact that Penn State Centre Stage decided to extend the run of their production of DOUBT: A PARABLE. The local theater scene was so rich this summer that I was afraid that it would be one production that I would have to miss. I am very glad that I had the opportunity this week to see it.

On the surface the story of DOUBT: A PARABLE is simple. The year is 1964 and the setting is a Catholic church and school in the Bronx. The conflict deals with a strict nun who is the head of the school and the young priest whom she accuses of inappropriate behavior with one of the young boys. Also involved are the mother of the boy and the young nun who reports that the boy came from the priest’s office very upset. 

 

As to be expected, the Penn State Centre Stage did a professional job. The set was beautiful. Dan Robinson designed a church and garden that was elegant and, yet, simple. The change from church to principal’s office was smooth and effective.

Costumes by Richard St. Clair were authentic. The black dresses of the nuns contrasted with the beautiful vestments of the priest in the pulpit. 

 

This is an actor’s show and depends on the believability of the characters. All four members of the cast were excellent. Jane Ridley was a very stern Sister Aloysius, the principal of the school. Although her lines drew laughter from the audience at times, she had a tragic air about her. She was so certain that she was right in her accusations of misconduct and her holding on to the mores of the past had a pathetic quality. 

 

I liked Sister James. Kenzie Ross captured her innocence and her enthusiasm for her job so well that her uncertainty at the end was painful to watch.

The ambiguity of the “doubt” of the title depends on the actor who plays Father Flynn, the young priest.  Tyler Reilly hit the tone perfectly. His Father Flynn had the audience asking even after the show if such a good, godly man could be capable of such deviate behavior.

My favorite scene was between Sister Aloysius and Mrs. Muller, the mother of the boy who was the first black student at the school as well as the center of the scandal. Here was the meeting of two strong women; one who was holding on to tradition and one who realistically knew that her son had to face a tough life and needed to graduate from this school to get into a good high school, no matter what was happening. Stori Ayer as Mrs. Muller showed a quiet strength that was impressively moving.

I hope that audiences saw beyond the local relevance of this “parable” to the layers of other worthwhile themes running through this thought-provoking play. I was still teaching in the classroom in 1964 and was aware of the changes of that time. The education system was torn between keeping to old, traditional ways and the new more liberal ways of thinking. The country’s idea of dress, morality, social behavior and issues, as well as the arts, was changing.  One of those “liberal” ideas was that blacks could have the same rights as other American citizens.

Author John Patrick Shanley won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and a Tony for  DOUBT: A PARABLE. Shanley also wrote the screenplay and directed the 2008 movie with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymore Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. 

DOUBT: A PARABLE runs at Centre Stage in Stage College through September 5th.  Information about tickets and location can be found on their website at:  http://theatre.psu.edu/performances/shows/doubt-parable.