Doubt at Center Rep

Let’s first acknowledge the topical premise of Doubt: A Parable, which is being presented by Center Repertory Company at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts through November 22. It involves a priest who is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student at a parish school. But Doubt, which won both the Pulitzer and Tony Awards, goes far beyond addressing the headline-grabbing sex abuse scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church in recent years. It speaks to profound human truths about how to live with uncertainty. 

Many of us would agree that this theme speaks to our times. The global economy is in turmoil, and our country has mounting debt while waging an unpopular war in Iraq. We’ve also just lived through a contentious presidential election. No matter whom you voted for, we still face the uncertainty of how a new White House administration will get the country back on track. 

The timing of this production by Center Rep, the in-house theater company at the Lesher Center, is notable for another reason. A much-anticipated film version of Doubt is due to be released December 12, just in time for Academy Award consideration. It stars Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as Oscar-nominated actress Amy Adams. The film is directed by the playwright, John Patrick Shanley.

To raise his larger questions about how to live with doubt, Shanley deliberately sets his story in the past, in another era of uncertainty. This is 1964, one year after John F. Kennedy was assassinated and social unrest was growing in the United States over civil rights, the Vietnam War, and Cold War clashes elsewhere around the world. The Catholic Church was also facing internal strife over the Second Vatican Council, an effort to make church teachings more relevant in an increasingly secularized, modern world.

“What do you do when you’re not sure?” These are the first words you hear in the play. They are spoken during a sermon by Father Brendan Flynn. He’s a handsome, progressive-minded priest at a parish school in a tough Bronx neighborhood He’s popular both with students and with parishioners. Very soon, Sister Aloysius, the school’s principal, will accuse him of having an inappropriate relationship with an 8th grade student.  Aloysius is an older nun who espouses faith in traditional ideas of discipline and Catholic teachings. And for much of the play, she espouses similar certitude about Flynn’s guilt. 

What’s intriguing and even entertaining about Doubt is that Shanley presents his philosophical questions within the context of a mystery. Shanley sprinkles fragments of possible evidence for or against Flynn’s guilt throughout the play. So, as an audience member, you spend the play trying to decide for yourself: did he or didn’t he?  What if I can’t know for sure? Can I live with not knowing? Can I live with a shadow of a doubt?

Center Rep’s production of Doubt is directed by Timothy Near, the former artistic director of San Jose Repertory Theatre, and stars two respected Bay Area stage veterans: Lorri Holt as Sister Aloysius and Kevin Rolston as Father Flynn.

Doubt: A Parable runs through November 22 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. Tickets costs $29–$39.  Call (925) 943-7469 or visit www.lesherartscenter.org.


 

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