DOUBT: A PARABLE run dates: 1/31/2008 - 2/17/2008 Riverside Theatre, Iowa City ____________________________________________________________________________
Audiences who see the magnificent DOUBT: A PARABLE currently playing at Riverside Theater will also get a chance to read director Bruce Wheaton’s notes in the program, which quote Voltaire: "Doubt is painful. Certainty is ridiculous."
In light of the show’s theme and the issues it raises, this statement provides additional insight that is invaluable to all of us who see the deft drama for ourselves. As is usual, Wheaton’s notes display an intellect and a scholarly approach to a script – and, again as usual – the production he directs benefits greatly from his insight. Couple this director with a stellar cast, then apply their collective talents to a fantastic script, and the result is the absolute essence of great theater.
That’s exactly what this show is – great theater – and I would be surprised if Riverside doesn’t sell out every single remaining performance, because this is the kind of work that keeps you thinking and talking about it long after you’ve driven away from the theater.
Playwright John Patrick Shanley, who won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, has created an intense drama centering on the suspicion that a priest has abused an eighth-grader. Set in 1964, in a parish school and church, the show focuses on doubt rather than certainty. When a principal and a teacher at the Roman Catholic school suspect a priest of molesting a particular student – and the principal is sure that reporting this to the bishop is pointless – they begin to seek answers about what really happened on the day in question. The result is an unpredictable series of events that highlight the tension between certainty and absolute truth, and this makes for gripping, thoughtful drama that never takes an audience for granted.
Jody Hovland is terrific as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the brisk and unflinching nun who demands order in her school, and her absolute commitment to this role makes her work here nearly unparalleled. Flinty-voiced and determined to protect her students from a priest she suspects is a pedophile, Hovland’s principal is implacable in her insistence that something is wrong. It is a masterful performance that will stay with you for a very long time.
In her conversations with Sister James (the teacher played with emotional authenticity by Kristy Hartsgrove), Hovland’s character also sometimes earns laughs for her unflappable pronouncements, which contrast sharply with the less-than-confident Sister James. In a serious play with so much tension and unspoken emotion, the laughs are a source of both relief and of real entertainment. When she takes Hartsgrove’s character to task for her "informal" teaching style, there are many quite funny lines that result from this exchange.
Hartsgrove is equally excellent as Sister James, allowing her expressions to convey just as much as Hovland’s voice does. This character’s sensitivity sets her apart, and Hartsgrove plays the role with a emotional openness that imbues every line.
Connie Winston’s turn as Mrs. Muller displays a stringy determination that lies underneath a swath of pain and a thin veneer of civility. It is a single scene she appears in, but the impact of her work is much larger – and quite painful as well.
Tim Budd plays Father Brendan Flynn, the priest at the center of the conflict. His emotional range serves the role well: Flynn’s sermons are well-articulated, the personal arrogance is not overdone, and the emotional response to the threatened end of his career is deeply felt. It is a complex performance that provides no easy answers.
And that is just what DOUBT is concerned with. An endless array of questions and conflicted emotion – without the neatly-wrapped ending of a sitcom or Disney film – is just what this modern parable should leave us with.
Fully earning its title, this must-see drama is a character-driven success that Wheaton and Riverside – and everyone associated with it – must be incredibly proud of.
