Doubt: a Sure Thing

John Patrick Shanley’s 2005 play is set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, and that’s significant. President John Kennedy had been assassinated the year before; the Civil Rights Movement was underway; the Vatican’s Second Ecumenical Council had taken place, and the women’s movement was starting to stir. The mid-sixties were a time of unsteadiness, or, as Shanley put it in his preface, “emotion longing for the familiar.”

The playwright probed these emotions in “Doubt, a Parable,” his Pulitzer Prizewinner and the Ross Valley Players’ newest production. Here, Sister Aloysius Beauvier, long-time principal of St. Nicholas School, holds tight to tradition, defends penmanship taught with a real ink pen and the teaching of history that doesn’t “have sugar all over it.” Young and idealistic Sister James, on the other hand, loves history, loves the arts and music programs, loves teaching, and doesn’t even object to the ball point pen. “Innocent teachers are easily duped,” the principal warns. “Liars should be frightened in your presence.”

But Sister Aloysius herself recognizes the power of the well-placed lie, whether to defend another nun’s blindness or to rid herself of an enemy.

St. Nicholas’new priest, Father Flynn, is Sister Aloysius’ counterpart, but not her superior, in the church’s chain of command. He evokes the friction between them in his sermons, summarized from frequent notes he takes with his ball-point pen. And he works off his energies on the basketball court, where he is the boys’ coach. Here he addresses the issue of good grooming for the fingernails – long, he says, but impeccably clean.

But Sister James reports an action of Fr. Flynn’s that may be more serious than his long fingernails; she suspects he has secretly given wine to a twelve-year-old altar boy, Donald Muller. Worse, the boy is the school’s first black student, and he’s already acquired the reputation of being under the priest’s protection.

On the pretext of discussing next year’s Christmas pageant, Sister Aloysius calls Fr. Flynn into her office and charges him with the incident. Because a third party is required in these proceedings, Sister James, painfully uncomfortable, is required to be a witness. (“Gossip” will be the topic of Fr. Flynn’s sermon this week.)

Donald Muller’s mother is called in for a conference. She isn’t outraged about her son’s getting special attention from the priest. At least, he’s nice to Donald, not like his father. All she wants now is for Donald to finish eighth grade at St. Nicholas in June and get into a better high school. “You accept what you gotta accept, and you work with it,” she says.

Director Chris Cassell believes that the onstage version of “Doubt” is more powerful than the film. The script is fast-paced, with only four in the cast, and the energy among them changes moment to moment. Each character is capable of temper; each understands power and uncertainty.

As the formidable Sister Aloysius Beauvier, Chris Macomber is a standout. She is in charge – for now. Jamie Dawson’s Father Flynn feels authentic. His character evokes sympathy, but also suspicion. Shannon O’Neill Creighton shows Sister James’ tenuous position in the whole organization. And Clara Kamunde, a native Kenyan, brings out Mrs. Muller’s Bronx-mom determination.

Shanley’s script is discussion food. See this play with someone you can talk to.

“Doubt” will be performed Thursdays through Sundays at The Barn Theatre in Ross through February 13. Thursday shows are at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m., and Sundays are at 2 p.m., with a post-performance talkback on Friday, January 28. Ticket prices range from $15 to $25.

For additional information or tickets, please call the box office at 456-9555, or see the website, www.rossvalleyplayers.com.