Review: DOUBT: A PARABLE at The Garden Theatre

This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning story is set against the backdrop of 1960s America, a time of political and social upheaval. When the conduct of a progressive young priest comes under scrutiny by the school’s principal, Sister Aloysius Beauvier, deeply rooted beliefs are challenged. As suspicion mounts, priest and nun are drawn into a battle of wills with irrevocable consequences. John Patrick Shanley’s play is over 20 years old, yet it remains relevant today.

Director Jennifer Decker and Founding Artistic Director Logan Vaden deliver a powerful production of DOUBT: A PARABLE as the second-to-last show of The Garden Theatre’s season. As a homosexual who was raised in the Roman Catholic Church—and even served as an altar boy—I was anticipating something that would test me as much as my own crisis of faith did. I was not disappointed. This story resonates deeply and is one that should not be missed.

Nora Hahn (Sister Aloysius Beauvier) brings a quiet stoicism to the role. She masterfully volleys backhanded comments, and while her deadpan delivery is true to character, we can’t help but be darkly amusing by someone so pious and self-righteous. Unwavering in her convictions, her final line lands like a punch to the gut. Hahn channels these emotions into barbs so sharp, you don’t realize you’ve been cut until you see the blood.

Emily Buesing’s Sister James is the sweet to Sister Aloysius’ sour, and their banter is compelling. We deeply feel for her as her superior slowly chips away at her confidence and naïveté. Everyone in this production loses something—a piece of themselves—and Buesing’s performance left me the most heartbroken.

As Father Brendan Flynn, Patrick Fretwell walks the razor’s edge between earnest and devious with remarkable skill. His role is one of the most difficult because the entire play depends on our ability to both believe and distrust him in equal measure. Is he being persecuted unfairly, or does he deserve it? We are never really sure. We do know after his second sermon that he is petty, but is the stern and friendly facade just that? Fretwell plays this complexity compellingly.

Then there’s Mrs. Muller, played by Ambi Anuh-Ndumu, who in only one scene has an incredibly difficult job of being the missing piece of the puzzle. We never meet her son, Donald, so she carries the weight of exposition. Anuh-Ndumu is fantastic. She steps onto the stage with our sympathies and flips them around so many times that by the time she exits, you don’t know up from down. Her slow-burn performance is executed masterfully.

One small critique regarding the sisters’ bonnets: While I understand that nuns of this era wore head coverings, and that wimples might not have been appropriate, I found that the bonnet brims cast shadows that obscured a lot of facial detail. The actors had such rich and captivating chemistry, I longed to see more of their reactions and emotions, hidden behind the fabric.

In the end, each audience member is left with their own interpretation of what happened, why, and whether the outcome was just. How far out on a limb are you willing to go, with only your own certainty to console you? How fragile is innocence if it can be so easily eroded? Can you convince someone who is sure you’ve done wrong, even if you haven’t? And when the one person showing your child kindness might also be harming him, would you, could you turn a blind eye?

This production will make you think. And I guarantee, you’ll still be thinking about it days later.

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