Doubt

Taking on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a massive endeavor. With well-published expectations to aspire to, many companies and directors go over the top with set, lighting and costume descisions and play to stereotypes instead of bringing out true human beings with flawed judgment and emotional responses. But with John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner in drama, Spiral Theatre shoulders the responsibility as though it’s just a silently hovering moth, showcasing emotions shaped by perception, experience – and most of all, doubt.

The play opens with a domineering and self-sure Sister Aloysius, the school’s principal, lecturing a new and less confidant teacher, Sister James. Taken aback and in awe of her veteran sister, Sister James tries to abandon her enthusiasm for teaching at the insistence of her superior. While doubting her own capabilities, Sister James becomes subject to suggestibility by Sister Aloysius about the integrity of Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius first hints and then adamantly proclaims that Father Flynn is guilty of sexual molestation of a male student – the school’s first black student. The last few moments illuminate that no matter how surely one presents themselves, doubt always exists and indeed is an important part of our beliefs.

In foregoing a traditional theatre space for the sanctuary of Plymouth Church on Milwaukee’s east side, Director Mark Hooker found the ideal location for Shanley’s play – set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964. Hooker uses the church setting for Father Flynn’s sermons, while Sister Aloysius’ office comprised of a plain desk and chairs at the front of the church. In this simple and unostentatious setting, Hooker and the actors can focus on Shanley’s characters.

Sandra Stark as Sister Aloysius is rigorously strict and renders comic moments with perfect timing by playing them absolutely straight. She also captured the particular vulnerability essential to the character.

Terry Gavin is intriguing as Father Flynn, the understanding priest with a sense of humor and call to reach out to the surrounding community – or, as the case may be, the scheming pedophile taking advantage of a student isolated by race. The truth about Father Flynn is never revealed, and Gavin plays the priest with innocence while still letting doubt creep in about his true intentions

Playing the inexperienced Sister James, Jenna Wetzel is credible as a dedicated teacher and servant of the church, whose blind faith in her mentor is shaded with encroaching doubt, forcing Sister James to explore her own faith and belief. The shift Sister James experiences is subtle, and Wetzel’s portrayal is nuanced and skillful.

As Mrs. Muller, the mother of the student possibly being sexually molested, Ericka Wade is compelling and controversial. One minute she insists that Father Flynn has done nothing but ease her son’s transition, the next she demands his removal and the next she rationalizes that if it’s true, it’s only until June, and her son needs to stay at the school in order to get into a good high school. Wade is a shining example that there really aren’t any small roles.

Ultimately, Hooker chose relevant and engrossing material and actors willing to submerge themselves in the life of another, and he was able to guide them through the ambiguous depths. Inner conflict often remains unsolved over an entire lifetime. Doubt exposes some of the deepest self-questioning humans go through and it’s oddly comforting to know that even those with extreme faith live with the same blemishes and weakness. VS

Doubt runs through September 27 at Plymouth Church. For tickets or more information call 414-248-6481 or visit Spiral Theatre online.