It would be a sin to miss the production of "Doubt" now playing at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Playwright John Patrick Shanley's 90-minute Pulitzer- and Tony-winning drama delivers a perfect blend of humor and drama in a thought-provoking evening of theater.
Audiences know Shanley's work from his Oscar-wining script for the film "Moonstruck." Here he delves into human and social issues by way of a moral whodunit. Shanley asks the questions and leaves the answers to the audience.
Strongly directed by Warner Shook, the play takes place some 40 years before shocking allegations of sexual abuse seared headlines and heaped shame upon the Catholic Church. JFK had been assassinated, civil rights and women's liberation movements were being hatched and Vatican II had sprouted progressive limbs.
Set against the backdrop of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, Shanley's drama tells the story of a conservative, tough-as-nails nun facing the decision of a lifetime. Should she voice her suspicions about a liberal-minded priest's possible pedophilia? Or bury her fears and leave room for doubt? With this cross to bear, Sister Aloysius goes on a holy rampage, determined to do what she thinks is right - at all costs.
As the principal of a middle school located in a working-class parish, she believes in inspiring terror in the students, so a trip to her office is never fun. Not for the children, their parents or even the other nuns. Surrounded by a bare-bones arrangement of chairs, files, a desk and a lone photo of the Pope on the wall, no one is comfortable in this termagant's presence.
The holier-than-thou Sister lives up to the tales spread about parochial school nuns. She quotes Socrates and delivers her words with authority, as if Moses has just carved them on a tablet of stone. She's against ballpoint pens, hates Christmas plays and views innocence as a form of laziness. She's not very likeable, but she's often witty. Still, her compassion seems limited to the roses in the convent courtyard and aging nuns who are losing their eyesight. And the joy of her faith long ago got bogged down by doctrine and discipline.
So when the school admits a black child for the first time ever, a battle of wills ensues. Not about his race, but his vulnerability, which eventually triggers a cat-and-mouse confrontation between the controlling Sister Aloysius and the charismatic priest, Father Flynn. She suspects the priest's motives toward the boy; the priest claims to be sympathetic to the boy's loneliness. As the self-righteous Sister builds her case, the priest counters with a sermon on the evils of gossip.
Kandis Chappell gives a powerful performance - almost too powerful - as stern and formidable Sister Aloysius. She nearly smothers the performances of the other actors onstage, especially Father Flynn. And as a result, she diminishes the power of Shanley's beautifully written play. The reason Shanley's script is so perfect is its balance. But in the Rep's production, the final confrontation between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn falters, partly due to Chappell's stage clout. The Sister must challenge, but she should not conquer. This scene should teeter back and forth between these two protagonists. Although Chappell received a round of applause at the end of the scene on opening night, the audience should have been wrestling with their own "doubt."
The director must shoulder some responsibility, as must Corey Brill as Father Flynn: The director for empowering Chappell to the point of dominance. And Brill for making the priest too likeable when he needs to be more wily and complex. In Brill's interpretation of Father Flynn, it's hard to believe this affable fellow could be a monster. Still, we discover that he has been shuttled around to three different parishes in the past five years. Another notch on Sister Aloysius's relentless rosary.
An appealing Melissa D. Brown portrays the impressionable, history-loving Sister James, an innocent pawn caught between the machinations of Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius. One befriends her, the other berates her. She's gullible about the priest's friendly overtures. After all, they both agree that the modern role of the church should be warmer and more humane. But on the other hand, the young nun must answer to the manipulative Sister Aloysius, who commands her to be on the lookout for improprieties by the popular priest.
So Sister James dutifully reports back that 12-year-old Donald Mueller, the school's first black student, looked troubled and frightened after a tête-à-tête with Father Flynn. Plus young Donald had alcohol on his breath. Obviously, he had dipped into the sacramental wine. But was it his idea, or was he enticed into doing so?
One performance that Sister Aloysius does not smother is that of Cynthia Jones, who gives a poignant, potent and utterly believable portrayal as Mrs. Mueller, the mother of the boy at the root of the conflict. Summoned by the Sister, in just 10 minutes onstage, Jones embodies dignity, desperation, determination and most of all a mother's love and protection of her son. Like a tigress, she defends her cub. It is a virtuoso turn and a pivotal moment in the play.
Even as "Doubt" remains a serious drama about complicated human and social issues, it is also very funny and entertaining. Although one of his own family members was molested by a priest, Shanley obviously knows exactly when to inject humor to relieve the pressure. At one point, there's a very amusing exchange about secular Christmas songs, during which Sister Aloysius lambastes the paganly attributes of "Frosty the Snowman."
Given the current controversy of religion and the continued exposure of the misconduct of Catholic priests, the play forces us to ponder our own thoughts about faith and justice. The strength of Shanley's drama is its ambiguity. Did Father Flynn commit a heinous crime against this young boy? Or is Sister Aloysius leading a fanatical witch-hunt against an innocent man?
In Father Flynn's first sermon of the play, he talks about a sailor lost at sea. The man manages to build a raft out of the wreckage and float back out to the ocean, charting his journey by the constellations. But as clouds cover the sky, he can no longer see the stars. So he begins to doubt his voyage, howling at the heavens.
Shanley dares us to embrace our own misgivings. In these times of political and religious controversy and propaganda, we are certainly adrift - but not alone. Like pebbles in a sea of doubt, we search for truth and wisdom in a universe of uncertainty.
'Doubt' runs Tuesday-Sunday through Oct. 21 at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Tickets $10-$46, 443-2222 or seattlerep.org[[In-content Ad]]
