Spring Break
Undoubtedly an incredible play, worth seeing twice
Allie Clark
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: Diversions
Doubt (A Parable):
Showings: Feb. 13 - Feb. 22 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Where: Majestic Theater
Cost: $10
"Doubt" is a play that twists and turns your mind.
In the small Catholic school and church of St. Nicholas in 1964, uncertainty rules the air. President Kennedy's assassination a year ago still hangs heavily over the congregation and the school, and a chain of devastating events will soon be set in place to create a priest scandal that rocks the tiny school.
It all starts when Sister Aloysius, the severe and hard principal of the school, warns the young, innocent Sister James to be watching her class particularly closely after a strange sermon by Father Flynn, the gregarious and charming priest. When Sister James reports an incident involving Donald Moller, the school's first black child, Sister Aloysius' suspicions are aroused, and she begins to wonder if Father Flynn is involved in Donald's strange actions. However, she is unable to directly confront Father Flynn because he is her superior, and in 1964 nuns were not even allowed to be alone with the priest.
Father Flynn contends that he merely befriended a lonely boy - a boy that had no friends and needed support.
One second you're sure you know the situation; the next you're plunged into an uncertain world of shadowy actions and even muddier intentions. You can't help but identify with Sister James as she wonders who to trust and who to believe.
With a cast of four whose acting experience runs from no experience to 20 plus years, "Doubt" is a challenging play with no real answers. Mark Staben, who plays Father Flynn, said that one of the hardest things about his character is that the playwright, John Patrick Shanley, doesn't tell you the answer. The OSU Engineering IT Team member was able to decide a complicated back-story for Father Flynn, including whether or not he did it, and that back-story will obviously color his performance. Coming back after a 9-year acting hiatus, Straben's performance shines.
Showings: Feb. 13 - Feb. 22 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Where: Majestic Theater
Cost: $10
"Doubt" is a play that twists and turns your mind.
In the small Catholic school and church of St. Nicholas in 1964, uncertainty rules the air. President Kennedy's assassination a year ago still hangs heavily over the congregation and the school, and a chain of devastating events will soon be set in place to create a priest scandal that rocks the tiny school.
It all starts when Sister Aloysius, the severe and hard principal of the school, warns the young, innocent Sister James to be watching her class particularly closely after a strange sermon by Father Flynn, the gregarious and charming priest. When Sister James reports an incident involving Donald Moller, the school's first black child, Sister Aloysius' suspicions are aroused, and she begins to wonder if Father Flynn is involved in Donald's strange actions. However, she is unable to directly confront Father Flynn because he is her superior, and in 1964 nuns were not even allowed to be alone with the priest.
Father Flynn contends that he merely befriended a lonely boy - a boy that had no friends and needed support.
One second you're sure you know the situation; the next you're plunged into an uncertain world of shadowy actions and even muddier intentions. You can't help but identify with Sister James as she wonders who to trust and who to believe.
With a cast of four whose acting experience runs from no experience to 20 plus years, "Doubt" is a challenging play with no real answers. Mark Staben, who plays Father Flynn, said that one of the hardest things about his character is that the playwright, John Patrick Shanley, doesn't tell you the answer. The OSU Engineering IT Team member was able to decide a complicated back-story for Father Flynn, including whether or not he did it, and that back-story will obviously color his performance. Coming back after a 9-year acting hiatus, Straben's performance shines.
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