Review: DOUBT: A PARABLE at Gamm Theatre

There are 46 parables in the New Testament, each a simple story meant to reveal a profound lesson. When a playwright tags their work with that label — as John Patrick Shanley does in his 2004 Doubt: A Parable, you can bet that there's a lesson involved. And the crisply paced, briskly acted production at the Gamm Theatre invites the audience to learn something important. You will leave the theater with — it must be said — doubts.

It is 1964, at St. Nicholas Catholic school in the Bronx, run by the Sisters of Charity, and ruled with an iron fist by head nun Sister Aloysius (Phyllis Kay in a spookily realistic turn that had former Catholic students in the audience either gasping or laughing in recognition). A young, totally innocent Sister James (Mary Mullane, endearingly charming and wide-eyed) suspects something untoward happened between one of her students and the progressive new priest, Father Flynn (Benjamin Grills). The boy's mother (Lynsey Ford, in a deeply real portrayal with thoughtful moments of steely determination) rounds out the cast.

Since this is a parable, the story unfolds with grim inevitability: Sister Aloysius is convinced that Flynn has made advances on the boy, the mother adds some context from home, and Sister James acts as a stand-in for the audience, asking questions and vacillating in her belief in the priest's guilt. Father Flynn deploys the protections of the priesthood -- reminding the nuns that they have taken vows and must go through official channels, however unpromising those might be. There are innocent explanations, possible misdirections, and a hefty dose of anxious uncertainty. It's a tightly written, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning script that packs a lot into its 90 minutes with no intermission.

Director Rachel Walshe has a clear vision of the work as parable. The action is crisp, and the actors seem to have been encouraged sometimes to be more archetypes than naturalistic, fully realized humans (that is, of course, part of Shanley's design). It is not a spoiler to say that the moment of central conflict — the adamantine Sister Aloysius going head-to-head with the enigmatic Father Flynn — is given harsh, full-throated staging that is compelling. And yet Walshe manages a delicate touch, never allowing the actors to reveal too much. We are meant to be left, as (at least some of) the characters are, never quite sure what to believe.

The set design, by Patrick Lynch, beautifully evokes the feel of a Mother Superior's office. It's hyperrealistic and  meticulous, and every little detail is just right, down to the portrait of Pope Paul VI and the tiny garden visible through the window. Exemplary lighting by Steve McLellan deftly foregrounds all the action. The costumes, by Jessie Darrell Jarbadan, are simple, period accurate, and nicely executed. Hunter Spoede's sound design provides all the right environmental ambience.

The Gamm has mounted a commendable production with clear choices in stylistic approach. The goal of a parable is to get the listener to think beyond the surface of the text. Shanley as playwright and Walshe as director are intent that we question our own certainty. That they are largely successful is testament to the work of the cast and creative team — given all that has happened in the real world since this play was originally produced, it can be hard for us to take Father Flynn's protestations of innocence at face value, but we are forced to form — and critically evaluate — our own belief.

It's the kind of show that needs to be attended to (seemingly minor details and synchronicities are telling) and that requires a willingness to engage with big questions like the nature of truth, how far you are willing to go for something you believe, and the fundamental unknowability of other minds. It's not a comedy -- although there are some dark laughs to be had along the way -- but for those who can take their theatre with a bit of a moral, it is an enjoyable, thought-provoking production.

Doubt: A Parable. Directed by Rachel Walshe. At the Gamm Theatre, May 9-June 2. Tickets $55-$65 at gammtheatre.org/doubt or 401 723-4266. Box office: 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick. 

Photo: Cat Laine

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