MM Theater Blog

Olney Theatre Center kicks off their 2008 season on a high note with John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: A Parable. Audience members may come away from the play having doubts about what actually occurred (or didn't occur), but there is no doubt that this thought-provoking drama is a rousing success!

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Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, it revolves around a nun/school principal who suspects the new priest of improper conduct with a student -- the only African American student in the school. The play raises numerous questions about morality, the hierarchy and rigidity of the Catholic Church in the 1960s (prior to Vatican II), the role of teachers, women in a male-dominated culture, racism, homosexuality, and child abuse, for a start. Mr. Shanley's nuanced dialogue combined with the actors' strong performances gives the audience plenty of food for thought both during the play and after leaving the theater. It is a play so rich in substance that you may find yourself divining new insights even days afterwards.

The acting in this production is first rate. Of particular note is Brigid Cleary as the determined and strong-willed Sister Aloysius. It is such a treat to see Ms. Cleary return to Olney (where she has performed more than 40 roles), after a too long absence. James Denvil is excellent as the likable and enigmatic priest. Patricia Hurley hits just the right note of innocence as the nun who is caught up in the drama. And Deidra LaWan Starnes is powerful as the mother of the child in question.

John Going's direction allows the actors to shine as the ideas in the text take center stage. The set is simple -- stone archways double as the backdrop for the interior of the church where sermons are given, as well as the cloister in an outdoor courtyard. A stage with a desk, chairs, and other furnishings rolls forward for the scenes that take place in the principal's office. The children of the school are never seen, but we hear their chants and laughter in one scene where the priest is teaching them basketball, or they are spoken about by the characters and pointed to as if just off stage. Thus, their presence is felt throughout the entire play.

Mr. Shanley's work is masterful -- cleverly weaving the different points of view of the various characters. On one level this production is about the doubt that we have about the guilt or innocence of the priest, but it also about the varying levels of doubt that are displayed by each character relative to the priest and their own actions. Mr. Shanley has written numerous plays, but may best be remembered for the screenplays of Moonstruck and Joe vs. the Volcano. This work has a more somber tone, but does have some moments of humor interspersed throughout.

There is an interesting scene in which the priest gives a sermon about gossip, and later reveals that the story he used to illustrate the point was fabricated. (It is a parable within a parable.) He goes on to say that made-up stories better serve this purpose, because the truth is too complex. And therein lies the genius of this work, which is itself a made-up story designed to illustrate a point, or several points.

All in all, a very interesting and intellectually stimulating evening of theater.

MM Rating - * * * * 1/2