Doubt: A
Parable
by John Patrick Shanley
March 20-22, 26-29, 2008
Pay What You Can: March 26 |
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 What
do you believe? CBMT presents "Doubt:
A Parable"
by Tricia Seeberg
Crested Butte Mountain Theatre proudly presents Doubt:
A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, opening
March 20. Some of you know Shanley through
his award-winning screenplay, Moonstruck,
or his interpretation of the tragic Andes
airplane crash, Alive. But his powers
of observation shine in this Pulitzer Prize
and Tony Award winning play.
Shanley places Doubt in
the 1960s. At that time in history, we were
variously wide open to the possibilities
of change or rooted firmly in the 1950s,
hoping things would stay the same. The under-toe
of America pulled a leg one way, an arm another
and often pulled us under, disorienting us
once we came up for air. In the middle of
social or political upheavals of the time,
some of you might recall that Pope John Paul
XXIII called the Second Ecumenical Council
in 1959 (the first was in 1870 and concluded
with the definition of papal infallibility),
in which case, the effects of this council
were just beginning to take seed by the mid-1960s
but often met resistance. Vatican II, as it’s
become known, laid the foundation for the Church
to better serve the needs of the Christian
people, including an overall feeling of making
the Church friendlier and more social. It sought
to adapt itself to the changing conditions
of modern times. Whether Vatican II has accomplished
that is an entirely different essay. But a
bit of understanding might be somewhat relevant
to knowing in what atmosphere Doubt is
set.
The play opens with Father Flynn in the
pulpit. Fresh off the Vatican II boat, he is
alive with ideas and suggestions on how to
close a gap between the Church and its congregation.
Father Flynn is open-minded, desiring to see
something as simple as a secular holiday song
in the Christmas pageant. The older, righteous
principal Sister Aloysius runs her school with
authority, stays on top of the progress of
her students, demands nothing less than propriety
and believes that education and schooling do
not exist for the entertainment and pleasure
of either the students or the nuns and priests
at the school. The novice Sister James seems
fresh out of the nunnery, bright-eyed and hopeful
to improve the lives of her students. Sister
Aloysius is quick to point out Sister James’s
faults in her teaching methods, and we see
Sister James exist in a somewhat confusing
place. Place them in the context of Sister
Aloysius accusing Father Flynn of inappropriate
behavior with a student, and you have a setting
for a powerful piece of drama.
This alone is
enough to create a compelling work. But consider
that the student is a black child whose mother
wants only to see her boy get an education.
Then consider that while racism was not talked
about that much during the 1960s, it was a
simmering stew that was rapidly coming to a
boil. Remove your notion of how you think this
play ends, and you might leave the theatre
doubting as well.
Doubt:
A Parable is just that:
a parable, a story used to illustrate a moral
lesson. Parables infer a religious moral
lesson, but that’s the irony of Shanley.
This play is not about a religious moral
lesson, nor is it about doubt of one’s
religion nor a mockery of the Church. Doubt is
about doubt, in one’s own self or in
someone you admire but who causes you to question.
And as doubt does, it shakes a foundation and
has consequences. To balance it out, however,
we have conviction and determination. The moral
lesson of this play affects us all, regardless
of religion or race. And it is because of that
that it stands as one of America’s finest
theatrical works.
Doubt: A Parable features Mary Tuck
as Sister Aloysius, Perry Lewis as Father Flynn,
Joanne Knox as Sister James and Kat Hassebroek
as Mrs. Muller, the young student's mother.
With a strong cast directed by Brent Laney
and a deftly written script, CBMT invites you
to explore a human condition that each of us
experiences and often battles. It runs March
20-22 and March 26-29. There will be a light
dinner at 7 p.m. for CBMT members on opening
night, with Pay-What-You-Can on March 26. Doors
open at 7:30 p.m., show time is 8 p.m. Tickets
are now available online at www.cbmountaintheatre.org
or by calling 970-349-0366. We hope to see
you there. |
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| Sister Aloysius |
Mary Tuck |
| Father Flynn |
Perry Lewis |
| Sister James |
Joanne Knox |
| Mrs. Muller |
Kat Hassebroek |
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