‘Doubt’ brings suspense, new faces to Stage
If you go:
What: ‘Doubt’
Where: Syracuse Stage
When: Feb. 15 – March 2
How much?: $9 for students
There’s no doubt audience members of Syracuse Stage’s production of ‘Doubt’ will leave the theater with questions.
The Pulitzer prize-winning play written by John Patrick Shanley in 2004 is the fifth Syracuse Stage production this season. Set in a parochial school in the Bronx in 1964, it explores what happens when a strict principal suspects that a well-liked young priest has engaged in improper sexual conduct with a young male student.
The play’s director, M. Burke Walker, said one of the strongest aspects of the production is the way it gets audiences talking and engaged in serious dialogue. This is the third directorial project for Walker at Syracuse Stage; he directed ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ in 2000 and ‘Stones in His Pockets’ in 2004.
‘This is a wonderful play that is a mystery in terms of that a crime may or may not have been committed,’ Walker said. ‘It stands as a parable for the whole idea of doubt and uncertainty. How do we know what we know, if we don’t have the facts to support it?’
‘Doubt’ is completely different from the other productions performed at Syracuse Stage this season, from the themes to the setting to how the plot unfolds, Walker said. He said the tense pin-drop drama combined with the play’s humorous moments will appeal to Syracuse University students.
‘It’s a great play,’ Walker said. ‘Beautifully acted and extremely engaging. Everyone has had that experience of dealing with the power structure within a school, and many students will have come from a parochial school background, so they can appreciate it in that aspect.’
The play stars four professional actors: Rod Brogan, Lucy Martin, Laiona Michelle and Devin Preston. Michelle performed in Syracuse Stage’s production of ‘Constant Star’ in 2003, while the other three actors are new to Syracuse Stage productions. Rehearsals began on Jan. 22 with the actors preparing for approximately 45 hours each week.
Though the play is set in 1964, it was produced against a backdrop of a decade and a half of sexual improprieties within the Catholic Church. How the Church handles those issues is one of the topics within the play, Walker said.
The production is so controversial that Syracuse Stage will host a discussion with some of the actors this Sunday after the 7 p.m. show.
‘It’s a terrific play to be discussing on the way home from the theater,’ Walker said. ‘The audience is usually split as to whether or not the priest actually did it. It’s relevant because it’s about right and wrong action and how you take action in the absence of hard evidence.’
Published on February 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm