John Patrick Shanley is gaining deserved recognition as one of America's finest modern
playwrights, and Doubt, at City Center's Second Stage, is among his best works, and quite
possibly his best. The simple staging in the principal's office and adjacent garden of a Catholic grade school in 1964 provides the backdrop for a
very modern story about expected pederasty in the priesthood. Each of the four actors offers a deeply evoked and rich performance, full of
nuance, emotion and conflict. Cherry Jones is incomparable as a rigidly controlling nun who runs her
school with an iron grip, but who meets her match when she elects to confront a popular priest who she believes is molesting a 12-year
old student -- who also happens to be the school's first Black child. Brian F. O'Byrne manages to be both charismatic and despicable in the
role of the priest, and his monologue sermons force us to confront both the demons of the church as well as our own. Shanley pulls no punches in attacking the Catholic Church's
institutional response to suspected pederasty, yet Doubt focuses our attention mostly on the characters and their personal and theological
issues. It is a theatrical event not to be missed.
Jack Myers Entertainment Report's entertainment rating system is based on a
maximum of five jacks and a minimum of zero jacks. 0 = awful; 1 = pretty bad; 2 = okay but don't go out of your way to see it; 3 = reasonably good but not special; 4 = very
good and worth paying attention to; 5 = exceptional. Opinions are based on my own likes, dislikes and preferences.
