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NO DOUBT, PICT HAS A WINNER
NO DOUBT, PICT HAS A WINNER
F. J. Hartland
With a powerful script, brilliant cast and stylish production, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre has scored a triumph with John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
Set in a parochial school in 1964, the play pits staid principal Sister Aloysius (Kate Young) against dynamic Father Flynn (David Whalen). She believes he has molested one of the students. She has no proof; he denies the charges. Along the way a young nun (Meghan Helmbecker) and the boy’s mother (Maria Becoates-Bey) are pulled into the conflict.
The brilliance of the play is that Shanley does leave us with doubts. Is the priest guilty or wrongly accused? The question is never resolved I’ve seen the play twice now—once where I thought he was guilty, once when I thought he was innocent.
Also in the midst of this very serious play, there is a great deal of humor. Shanley really knows how to play the audience by allowing us moments to laugh.
Kate Young captures Sister Aloysius perfectly. She is a strict taskmaster who always rules with her head, not her heart. Young’s performance captures so many facets of a character that could easily be reduced to a two-dimensional stereotype.
David Whalen is so charming and dynamic as Father Flynn that it is easy to see why he is so popular in the parish. So charming, in fact, that one can begin to believe that it is a cover for a darker, sinister side. The final confrontation scene between Flynn and Aloysius is an electrified roller-coaster ride thanks to Whalen and Young.
As Sister James Meghan Heimbecker captures both the innocence and confusion of someone caught between thinking with her heart or her head. There is also a rebellious streak that does eventually reveal itself, and in that moment Heimbecker is superb. Maria Becoates-Bey has the shortest role in the play, but manages to make her mark. Shanley has written some interesting twists in the character; Becoates-Bey makes the most of them.
The sleek and economical set by Gianni Downs should make the play move quickly. But for some reason there are interminably long pauses between the scenes which destroy the dramatic tension. Andrew David Ostrowski’s lighting is subtle and beautifully understated. Hats off to director Jeffrey M. Cordell and PICT for giving Pittsburgh an exciting evening of theatre.
Doubt runs through August 1 at the Henry Heymann Theatre at the University of Pittsburgh.