Coming to Calvary University this fall—the most controversial, challenging, and thought-provoking play in the history of CU Theatre Arts. Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, is a play with only four characters, but each is integrally linked to the power of this parable, providing our cast and audience with some of the best substance contemporary dramatic literature has to offer.
The year is 1964; the action of the play: St. Nicholas Catholic school and parish in the Bronx. Here you’ll become acquainted with neophyte 8th grade teacher Sister James whose love for children and teaching is about to encounter the heat of a moral crucible. Meet Father Flynn, the charismatic, well-loved, and progressive parish priest whose calling to shepherd his flock will be called into question so fiercely he may lose both his career and his freedom. Enter Sister Aloysius, Father Flynn’s nemesis and the tenaciously fierce, rigid, and tormented principal of St. Nicholas School. And finally, we introduce Mrs. Muller, the mother of the first African American boy to integrate St. Nicholas as she is confronted with the possibility that her son is being sexually abused by its priest. Written in 2004, this production continues to speak to our culture. In the fifteen years since this production began asking the questions it probes, sexual abuse continues to be rampant not only in Catholic schools, but in the entertainment industry, news casting, Evangelical Christian universities, and in our homes and families. What do we do when faced with issues of uncertainty, betrayal, and trust?
The beginning of change is the moment of doubt. It is that crucial moment when I renew my humanity or become a lie.
-John Patrick Shanley, playwright
In 2005, Doubt won all the coveted playwriting accolades: the Tony, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Drama Desk Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Obie Award, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. It also won Tonys for Best Direction, Best Performance by a Leading Actress, Best Performance by a Featured Actress, along with four other Tony nominations. In 2008 when Shanley wrote the screenplay, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the entire cast was nominated for Academy Awards in acting categories. Doubt is indisputably one of the best pieces of dramatic literature of our century.
We rest our case! We invite you to experience this production with us and become a part of the solution! Preshow talks and talkbacks will be held before and after each performance. Licensed practical therapists, Biblical counselors, and theology profs will join our cast and crew for discussion. We welcome you to join us for a sensitive examination of the themes of this production.
Due to the sensitive subject matter, we recommend this production to an audience of those twelve and up.
Matinee performances on October 24 at 11:00 a.m. and October 27 at 2:00 p.m.
Evening performances on October 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets go on sale as of 9/24. For ticket information, please click here to visit our Box Office.
