By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)
John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable is a brilliant indictment of organized religion and the negativity attached to innuendo and gossip. While it finds root in the Catholic Church of Shanley’s own youth, the damage to reputation and the stain on the lives of the accused could really be extended to any institutional faith group.
The actions in Doubt take place in 1964 and it is intentional, a time of innocence shattered with the recent assassination of President John F. Kennedy. So, too, it is a time when the heroes of American society began to be observed to have feet of clay.
The stakes at play in Doubt are terribly high. The suspicions of impropriety leveled by Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Leslie Nipkow), the principal of St. Nicholas School, against parish priest Father Brendan Flynn (David Lind), are profound, but they also involve one of her student charges, who just happens to be the lone Black student in the school.
That opens up an entirely unexpected aspect of the play as to whether racism enters into the impetus behind the dogged pursuit of Father Flynn.
Directed by Ashley Santos, the current production running at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré is a taut 90 minutes of drama with one superb performance after another.
A terrific actor herself, Santos elicits fantastic performances from her cast. Having been a mother herself, Santos knows the ramifications that will be visited upon the child even if the charges against Father Flynn are not proved. The biggest damage occurs with just the hint of suspicion.
As the school principal, Nipkow is relentless in her hounding of the priest. She is also devastatingly critical of Sister James (Elizabeth McCoy) and brutally honest in her assessment of her work. Sister James is optimistic and trusting, while Sister Aloysius is suspicious and pessimistic. They constitute a religious yin and yang to each other.
Then, there is Donald, the boy who has been befriended in a middle school that otherwise is a tortuous path. He drinks some of the sacrificial wine in the vestry and gets caught. Sister Aloysius is convinced Father Flynn is not only responsible but also grooming the boy, even without a scintilla of evidence.
The boy’s mother, Mrs. Muller (Queen Shereen Macklin) turns in a sensational performance as a woman divided in her love for her child and her fear from her abusive husband. She is summoned to the school by the principal. “My son doesn’t need additional difficulties,” she pleads in an emotional audience with Sister Aloysius. A protective mother, Mrs. Muller understands that her son is different, but she also understands that the priest is the only good man to reach out to him.
Sister Aloysius’ unrelenting attack on Father Flynn seems ill-advised. He warns her that he is in a position to have her removed. But she is tenacious. She will not waver in her belief that he has committed a crime even though she doesn’t have proof.
The scenic design by Joan Long transports us all back to the mid-1960s with renderings of stained glass windows that set the tone for the propriety of the church and boy’s school. The lighting designs perfectly complement the rendering of the set and the sound designs by Nick Shackleford heighten the scenes with nuance and tension.
Played to a final scene that leaves little resolution, Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony Award winner for Best Play leaves little doubt that his honors are well deserved and that this is one of the best renditions of Doubt ever to be produced on a local stage.
Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley (90 minutes with no intermission) continues its run at Le Petit Thetre du Vieux Carré. For tickets go to lepeittheatre.com or call 504-522-2081.
