| Doubt, A Parable | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | John Patrick Shanley |
| Characters |
|
| Date premiered | November 23, 2004 |
| Place premiered | Manhattan Theatre Club New York City, New York |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | A nun suspects a priest of molesting an altar boy |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | A Catholic school in the Bronx. Autumn 1964. |
Doubt, A Parable is a dramaticstage play written by American playwrightJohn Patrick Shanley. Originally stagedoff-Broadway at theManhattan Theatre Club on November 23, 2004, the production transferred to theWalter Kerr Theatre onBroadway in March 2005 and closed on July 2, 2006 after 525 performances and 25 previews. The play won the2005Pulitzer Prize for Drama and2005Tony Award for Best Play.[1]
In 2008, the play was adapted as a feature film titledDoubt. It starredMeryl Streep as Sister Aloysius andPhilip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn and was nominated for severalAcademy Awards.
The play is set in the fictional St. Nicholas Church School, inthe Bronx, during the fall of 1964. It opens with a sermon by Father Flynn, a beloved and progressive parish priest, addressing the importance of uncertainty: "Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty." The school's principal, Sister Aloysius, a rigidly conservative nun who is vowed to her order, theSisters of Charity, insists upon constant vigilance. During a meeting with a younger nun, Sister James, Aloysius reveals a deep mistrust toward her students, her fellow teachers, and society in general. Naïve and impressionable, James is easily upset by Aloysius's severe manner and harsh criticism.
Aloysius and Flynn are put into direct conflict when she learns from James that the priest had a one-to-one meeting with Donald Muller, St. Nicholas's firstAfrican-American student. Mysterious circumstances lead her to believe thatsexual misconduct occurred. In a private meeting, purportedly regarding theChristmas pageant, Aloysius, in the presence of James, openly confronts Flynn with her suspicions. He angrily denies wrongdoing by insisting that he was disciplining Donald for drinkingaltar wine and claims to have been protecting the boy from harsher punishment. James is relieved by the explanation. Flynn's next sermon is on the evils of gossip.
Aloysius, dissatisfied with Flynn's story, meets with Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller. Despite Aloysius's attempts to shock her, Mrs. Muller says she supports her son's relationship with Flynn. She ignores Aloysius's accusations. Before departing, she hints that Donald may be "that way," which may cause her husband to be beating him.
Flynn eventually threatens to remove Aloysius from her position if she does not back down. Aloysius informs him that she phoned the last parish to which he was assigned and that she discovered a history of past infringements. After declaring his innocence, the priest begins to plead with her, but she blackmails him and demands that he resign immediately, or she will publicly disgrace him with his history. Disgusted, she leaves the office. Flynn calls the bishop to apply for a transfer, and is subsequently promoted to pastor of a nearby parochial school.
After hearing the news, Aloysius reveals to Sister James that the decisive phone call to Flynn's previous parish was a fabrication and that she has no evidence of past wrongdoing. As a result, Aloysius is left with ambiguous doubt, and the audience is left to wonder if the doubt is in either herself or the Church. With no proof of Father Flynn's guilt or innocence, the audience is left with its own doubt.[2]
| Character | Broadway | Film Adaptation | Broadway Revival |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2008 | 2024 | |
| Sister Aloysius | Cherry Jones | Meryl Streep | Amy Ryan |
| Father Flynn | Brían F. O'Byrne | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Liev Schreiber |
| Sister James | Heather Goldenhersh | Amy Adams | Zoe Kazan |
| Mrs. Muller | Adriane Lenox | Viola Davis | Quincy Tyler Bernstine |
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TheNew York City production, directed byDoug Hughes, was performed in a one-act performance running approximately ninety minutes. In interviews, the cast said the second act took place when the audience left the theatre and began to discuss their differing opinions of the events, with some people agreeing with Aloysius and others siding with Flynn. Upon publication, Shanley changed the title fromDoubt toDoubt: A Parable. The four original cast members wereCherry Jones as Sister Aloysius,Brían F. O'Byrne as Father Flynn,Heather Goldenhersh as Sister James, andAdriane Lenox as Mrs. Muller.[3][4] This production had scenic design byJohn Lee Beatty, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Pat Collins, and original music and sound design byDavid Van Tieghem.
In 2006,Eileen Atkins,Ron Eldard, andJena Malone joined the cast and replaced Jones, O'Byrne, and Goldenhersh, respectively. In the fall of 2006, Jones headed the national touring company, consisting ofChris McGarry, Lisa Joyce, and Caroline Stefanie Clay.Doubt won the 2007Touring Broadway Award as Best Play.
The West Coast premiere was directed byClaudia Weill and took place at thePasadena Playhouse. Another production was staged at Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California in 2010. It was directed by Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan and starredJoseph Fuqua as Father Flynn andRobin Pearson Rose as Sister Aloysius.
In 2007, the play was staged inVenezuela, in the Cellarg Theatre, with Elba Escobar, Luigi Sciamanna, Mariaca Semprun and Beatriz Vazquez.
The Australian premiere was mounted at theSydney Opera House by the Sydney Theatre Company on February 4, 2006. The cast included Alison Bell, Jennifer Flowers, and Christopher Garbardi, and was directed by Julian Meyrick. This was followed by the Asian debut ofDoubt inSingapore on March 21, 2006, by ACTION Theatre, directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall, with Nora Samosir as Sister Aloysius, Lim Yu-Beng as Father Flynn and Pam Oei as Sister James. The next production was in thePhilippines on June 2, 2006. Doubt ran at the Auckland Theater Company in New Zealand, from March 16 to April 8, 2006, directed byColin McColl, withLatham Gaines as Father Flynn,Elizabeth Hawthorne as Sister Aloysius, Kate Prior as Sister James and Goretti Chadwick as Mrs Muller.[5]
In theCzech Republic, the play was premiered in 2007 byNational Theatre inPrague with Jaromíra Mílová, Jan Novotný, Magdaléna Borová and Eva Salzmannová. In 2012 it was staged by a Czech non-professional theater group[6] with Andrea Jeřábková, Libor Ulovec, Lucie Koderová and Martha Coutin Caicedo in the roles. The latter was awarded the Best Czech Non-Professional Drama Performance 2012.
The play was staged in thePhilippines in 2006 by Atlantis Productions. This production starredCherie Gil as Sister Aloysius and played at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater at theRCBC Plaza in June 2006.[7]
The play premiered in theUK at London'sKiln Theatre (known then as Tricycle Theatre). Directed byNicolas Kent, it starredDearbhla Molloy as Sister Aloysius,Nikki Amuka-Bird as Mrs Muller,Padraic Delaney as Father Flynn and Marcella Plunkett as Sister James.[8] The production ran from November 22, 2007, to January 12, 2008.
The play was directed byRoman Polanski during its run at theThéâtre Hébertot inParis in late 2006. In April 2007, it was staged inWarsaw,Poland, by producerGene Gutowski, at Polonia Theatre.
A production directed by Mel Hooley withZimbabwean actors Kevin Hanssen and Anne Fischer was staged atDorchester Arts inDorset from August 19–21, 2010, supported by theBritish Council.
A production opened in Sydney, Australia, at theOld Fitzroy Theatre on May 12, 2017. The cast, Belinda Giblin (Sister Aloysius), Matilda Ridgway (Sister James), Damian de Montemas (Father Flynn) andCharmaine Bingwa (Mrs Muller), was directed by Dino Dimitriadis.
On June 1, 2023, theRoundabout Theatre Company announced that the play would receive its first Broadway revival at theTodd Haimes Theatre as part of its 2023–2024 season, starringTyne Daly as Sister Aloysius andLiev Schreiber as Father Flynn.[9][10] However, the first preview was cancelled, and on February 6, 2024, it was announced that Daly had to exit the production due to hospitalization.Isabel Keating, Daly's understudy, took over the role until February 11, 2024, withAmy Ryan assuming the role full time on February 13, 2024.[11][12]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Won | |
| Best Actor in a Play | Brían F. O'Byrne | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a Play | Cherry Jones | Won | ||
| Best Featured Actress in a Play | Heather Goldenhersh | Nominated | ||
| Adriane Lenox | Won | |||
| Best Direction of a Play | Doug Hughes | Won | ||
| Best Scenic Design in a Play | John Lee Beatty | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design in a Play | Pat Collins | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding New Play | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Play | Brían F. O'Byrne | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actress in a Play | Cherry Jones | Won | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Adriane Lenox | Won | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Play | Doug Hughes | Won | ||
| Pulitzer Prize | Drama | John Patrick Shanley | Won | |
| Theatre World Award | Heather Goldenhersh | Won | ||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Play | Liev Schreiber | Nominated |
| Best Actress in a Play | Amy Ryan | Nominated | ||
| Best Featured Actress in a Play | Quincy Tyler Bernstine | Nominated |
A2008 film adaptation byMiramax starsMeryl Streep as Sister Aloysius,Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn,Amy Adams as Sister James andViola Davis as Mrs. Miller (the name was changed in the film). Production began on December 1, 2007, with playwright John Patrick Shanley directing andScott Rudin producing.[13]
Anopera based on the play, commissioned by theMinnesota Opera, premiered in 2013, with music byDouglas J. Cuomo to alibretto by Shanley.
