Theater Department RE-enacts Iconic Play “Doubt: A Parable”
Liberty’s recreation of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for drama and Tony Award for Best Play recipient by John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt: A Parable,” tells the story of a parish in the Bronx that is under scrutiny for a potential scandal between a new student and the priest.
“The play is set in 1964 at a Catholic school in the Bronx,” Chris Nelson, director of the play and associate professor in the theater department, said. “The principal of the school, Sister Aloysius, becomes convinced that the father of the parish, Father Flynn, is involved in an improper relationship with a male student.”
Set against the backdrop of a 1960s America in the midst of political and social turmoil, what should be presented as a clear case is instead shrouded by mystery and doubt.
The four-person cast consists of Sister Aloysius, Father Flynn, Sister James and Mrs. Miller. According to junior Sydney Borchers, who plays Sister Aloysius, a situation arises in which Sister James becomes suspicious Father Flynn is betraying his duty to the church and behaving improperly with a new student, Donald Muller.
“The power struggle that ensues is quite powerful,” Nelson said. “Doubt versus certainty is the biggest theme. The 1960s was full of various power struggles including church hierarchy, the second ecumenical counsel and its effects on the Catholic church, racism and civil rights, women’s rights, etc.”
This play’s release was significant because it followed the 2002 groundbreaking investigative story released by the Boston Globe Spotlight team regarding the Catholic church’s cover-up of sexual abuse by priests for years. This reporting heavily impacted not only the church but society as a whole. It resulted in numerous lawsuits and unveiled the corruption within the Catholic church when it came to illegal and immoral actions carried out by leaders in prominent religious positions.
“I think one of the main themes is also this idea of decay,” Borchers said. “There are cracks and brokenness in every kind of institution in society. This brokenness deeply harms the people within it if they do not recognize and address these issues… this is what this play dives into.”
Although this play does not recount a particular historical event, it is based off this difficult time in the church’s history.
“John Patrick Shanley was a young catholic schoolboy in New York himself,” Borchers said. “So, part of this story comes from his experience in the parish along with the recent events that had taken place in the Catholic church.”
According to Nelson, this story, similar to the actual scandals that had plagued the church, leaves the audience guessing.
“I think it’s very easy from a surface level to view the play and think it is a show merely about doubts,” Borchers said. “I think the main point, however, is more so how suspicion can ruin a person’s life. So truly, you leave the show and you have real doubts about who to believe.”
Tickets to “Doubt: A Parable” showing in the Black Box Theater April 9-18 are sold out, but tickets to the final production of the semester, “Crazy For You,” are available on their website.
Jessi Green is the Asst. Feature Editor. Follow her on Twitter at @jesigreen0.