Humans adrift on an ocean of 'Doubt'

Doubt is a taut drama that spins the universal thread of uncertainly into a tale that shocks while provoking thought and discussion.

By John Bancroft, Special to the Times
Published January 6, 2008

SARASOTA

The single syllable Doubt not only titles John Patrick Shanley's challenging Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, it also serves as a perfect one-word synopsis.

Such admirable compression is a measure of just how tightly wound is this 90-minute, no-intermission play for ensemble voices. That the action is set in a Catholic church and school in the Bronx in 1964 and that the only characters are two nuns, a priest and the mother of the school's first black student amount to details. Doubt is the essence.

The staging by Asolo Repertory Theater is in perfect sync with the playwright's parsimonious approach. The set is both bare bones and evocative, serving, through devices as simple as a lighting change or as complicated as a desk appearing and disappearing through a trapdoor at center stage, as church, school principal's office, cloistered garden or gymnasium.

Father Flynn, whose youthful exuberance and "new church" optimism are nicely captured by Florida State University Conservatory graduate Paul Molnar, sets the scene for all that follows with a sermon on the theme, naturally, of doubt. Everyone has doubts, and it makes of doubters a brotherhood. Doubt is our estate as thinking human beings, even for those who count themselves believers.

Sister Aloysius, principal of St. Nicholas School, is played by the imposing, rock-solid veteran Randy Danson, who in this pivotal role makes it easy to believe she deserved the Obie for Sustained Excellence she was awarded in New York in 1992. It is this decidedly "old church" nun, foe of the ballpoint and champion of the fountain pen, who fosters suspicion about Father Flynn's real or imagined taboo relationship with an African-American altar boy. The doubt she sows will deeply wound all concerned, including herself.

As Sister James, an idealistic young teacher who finds pleasure, even joy, in her work, a character flaw in her principal's stern view, Karis Danish is appealingly and appropriately fragile. Her pain and confusion seem genuine as she is whipsawed between faith and doubt when her superior enlists her in her campaign to rid the parish of a man Sister Aloysius sincerely believes to be an unfit priest.

Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, who, alas, has little to do as Mrs. Fawcett in the current rep season's The Constant Wife, in Doubt finds a role worthy of her talent. She portrays Mrs. Muller, the tough, long-suffering, understandably disillusioned mother of the priest's possible victim. In the emotional geometry of the play, Mrs. Muller counterbalances Sister Aloysius' meddlesome idealism with her grounding in the reality of life at the frayed edge of a society into which she fears her son will never fit, even if he survives to manhood. Which is as much in doubt as everything else in this play.

But don't go to Doubt as to the guillotine. Like Mrs. Muller, Shanley's dramatic vision is tough, certainly, but it also is anchored in life closely observed. As staged by Asolo Rep, Doubt makes compelling theater. It will leave you not depressed but thoughtful and eager for the sort of conversation you may not have enjoyed since you and your college roommate read Steppenwolf and stayed up all night talking about it.

John Bancroft is a freelance writer who lives in Bradenton.

REVIEW
Doubt
Continuing in repertory through May 1 at Asolo Rep's Mertz Theatre, 5555 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
$19-$52 matinees; $22-$56 evenings.
For show dates and times: (941) 351-8000 or toll-free 1-800-361-8388 or go to www.asolo.org.

[Last modified January 3, 2008, 10:24:58]