Curtain Call
American Stage devises convincing ‘Doubt’
By LEE CLARK ZUMPE
| Article published on Monday, July 27, 2009 |
|
 |
For the final play of its 30th anniversary season, American Stage Theatre Company is presenting its production of John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt,” running through Aug. 23.
Performances are Wednesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Matinees are Saturday and Sunday, 3 p.m. Tickets range from $24 to $39 depending on the date and time of the performance. Call 823-7529 or visit www.americanstage.org.
Shanley’s play takes place in 1964 and tells the story of a bitter power struggle at a Bronx Catholic school that pits an old-school nun against a progressive young priest. The play opens with Father Flynn delivering a sermon on doubt, which elicits an unanticipated response from the school’s principal, Sister Aloysius. She suspects the basis for the sermon may rest in the priest’s guilty conscience – and she soon asks Sister James, a teacher, to watch for unusual behavior.
Her doubts soon take tangible form as she conceives – rightly or wrongly – of an inappropriate relationship between Flynn and the school’s first black student, Donald Muller. Further circumstances seem to confirm her suspicions though provide her no hard evidence.
Audiences may be acquainted with the 2008 film which starred Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Though it earned a bevy of award nominations, the cinematic adaptation failed to capture the tension a well-directed, well-acted production of the play can generate.
American Stage ably orchestrates the anxiety of a prolonged conflict while successfully walking that narrowest of lines by not taking sides in a play that director Todd Olson, in his comments before the first preview, referred to as more of a “what-got-done” than a “who- done-it.”
The two driving forces, equally inflexible, can each be viewed as either benevolent or offensive depending on the viewer’s point of view.
Christine Decker takes on the role of Sister Aloysius in her debut at American Stage. With 35 years of performances throughout the Southeastern United States, her stage experience is evident whether she is uttering quips that provoke audience laughter or dispensing tyrannical proclamations that underscore the character’s fanaticism.
Decker effectively balances the character, leaving the audience wondering if her crusade is fueled by a legitimate, intuitive concern or simple prejudice.
Eric Davis plays Father Flynn. Davis captures the priest’s charisma and conveys his open-mindedness and nurturing nature toward the school’s students. Davis’ performance perfectly contrasts the intolerance personified by Aloysius without making the priest appear so saintly that he is above suspicion.
Samantha McKinnon Brown portrays Sister James. Last seen earlier this season in American Stage’s production of “Lysistrata,” Brown’s character shows loyalty toward one character and sympathy for the other, thereby maintaining the play’s neutrality.
Erica C. Sutherlin’s Mrs. Mueller – the boy’s mother – has the least amount of stage time, but makes the most of it with an impressive performance. The role is essential in drawing conclusions – not so much about the incident as its repercussions. Sutherlin manages to win the audience’s support while espousing a pragmatic, albeit bleak, course of action.
Olson’s directing and sound design, Scott Cooper’s set design and Ben Williams lighting all conspire with this incomparable cast to make the Tampa Bay area premiere of Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning “Doubt” a fantastic finale for American Stage Theatre’s 30th anniversary season.
Revision: Show extended through Aug. 23.
|
Article published on Monday, July 27, 2009
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
