Taproot Theatre's Doubt a chilling must-see

Taproot Theatre's Doubt a chilling must-see

by Milton W. Hamlin - SGN A&E Writer DOUBT TAPROOT THEATRE THROUGH APRIL 26 $26-$33 John Patrick Shanley's Doubt is one of the most respected dramas of the past decade. It won every major prize - Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize - in its New York and Broadway debut in 2004, and it is one of the most compelling, demanding new works on the regional theater calendar. A misguided production at the Seattle Rep several seasons back reduced the play to straightforward melodrama, removing any "doubt" about the possible pederastic inclinations of a new priest in St. Nicholas, a Catholic school and church, in the Bronx in 1964. A stunning new production of Doubt at Taproot Theatre in Seattle's Greenwood district restores the play to its rightful position as a challenging, demanding new work. It continues through April 26 and should not be missed. Taproot's artistic director and co-founder Scott Nolte bring his usual intelligent direction to a play that must, as in must, keep the audience in doubt about the concerns about the new priest. Pam Nolte, Taproot's other co-founder, has played dozens of memorable characters on Taproot's stage (and in other Seattle-area theaters) but she has never been better than her current work as Sister Aloysius, the sadistic, doubting nun and principal of the school. Father Flynn - a wonderful performance from William Kumma in his Taproot debut - opens the play and sets the scene. In his sermon to the parishioners of St. Nicholas, he intones, "Last year, when President Kennedy was assassinated...." We are in 1964, nuns wore severe black habits, Vatican Two was an uncertain possibility, St. Nicholas has its first African American student and Sister Aloysius is concerned about the new, charismatic young priest, Father Flynn. Father Flynn is idolized by many - most of his junior high boys, the athletic teams he coaches, the impressionable young Sister James (a solid performance from Jesse Notehelfer), and, most of all, the young black student who feels alienated. Sister Aloysius has many concerns about Father Flynn - many of them wonderfully comic misunderstandings. He uses a ballpoint pen (instead of a "proper ink pen"), he wears his fingernails a bit too long, he is clearly self-indulgent - he takes three sugar cubes in his tea - "three!" He casually appropriates Sister's comfortable desk chair when summoned to her office for a conference about the Christmas pageant next year. And, then, there is the matter of his special attention to the young boy - "the black sheep, falling behind, at danger from the wolves." Father Flynn seems, forgive the phrase, straight as an arrow. Yes, he is the first priest in the school's history to mingle with the boys in the locker room. Yes, he is very attentive to the young, maybe troubled, African American boy. Yes, he is unwilling to discuss his sudden transfer from another parish. Yet, Vatican Two is on the horizon, times are changing, he is young and living in the remnants of the Kennedy era. The play's brisk 90-minute running time, with multiple scenes and settings, keeps the action going and the production flowing. Sister Aloysius is often a comic character, like the old, black crow that screams out in the school's cloistered courtyard. In her Salvation Army-like habit and bonnet, she seems a stock, comic character, but her fears are real and correctly directed. As she pushes and pushes, we see the other characters react and attempt to recover. An incredible scene with the boy's mother changes everything. Summoned to the principal's office, Mrs. Muller, wonderfully brought to life by Faith Russell, bring a whole new perspective to the situation. The brief, one-scene role, won a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress for the New York actress who created the role, and it is easy to see why. Mrs. Muller, at first, is concerned that her son is not doing well. She mentions that her husband is "hard on the boy." She slowly reveals that his father often beats him, "to make him a man." She knows he is "artistic," he is "different" and will not "bring grandchildren to my life." It is 1964 and she can't bear to acknowledge that he is a young, Gay adoloscent, but she knows. And she loves him. Asked about Father Flynn's questionable attention, she stuns Sister - and the audience - when she notes that "someone will be the first and I would be honored if Father Flynn was the one." "What kind of mother would...?" the audience (and Sister) wonders. Then she reveals more. Her son is in 8th grade, a transfer from a public school where he was harassed every day for "being different." It is spring and graduation is only months away. While he has made no friends at St. Nicholas, he has made no enemies - Father Flynn is clearly his protector and none of the other boys will disrespect Father or his "favorite." If, "if," she prays, he can graduate from St. Nicholas, he will get into a good high school and then a good college. And then, then, he will be out of the house and safe from his bullying father. He will meet others "like him" and lead a happy life. She has no doubt that his life can be rewarding. What more could a mother hope for? For the play to work, the audience must share Sister's doubt about Father Flynn, sympathize with the young Sister James' doubt about both Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius, be startled with Mrs. Muller's lack of doubt about what the future holds for her son. A bristling confrontation between Sister and Father in the play's final moments leads to an ironic coda about what happens when women in the church question male authority - at least in 1964. And, the final moment of the play, when Sister reveals her questionable methods to the young Sister James, and confesses, sobbingly, "I have such doubts...." This is serious theatre. And with its GLBT plot concerns, it is a must for all GLBT theater fans. As is typical with Taproot, the production details are first-rate - sets, costumes, lighting. The sound design, with Vesper-like chants connecting the scenes, adds to the success of the whole production. Sister Aloysius won a Tony Award as Best Actress for Cherry Jones in New York, and there is little doubt (there is that word again!) that the upcoming film version, starring Meryl Streep, will bring another Oscar nomination to that fine actress. For now, Pam Nolte is radiantly wonderful as the suspicious Sister Aloysius. It is a "must see" for serious theatergoers. Two asides: Take time to read the program notes about the prize-winning playwright. After chronicling his misadventures (he was "thrown out of kindergarten," "banned from the hot lunch program" in high school), Taproot notes that went into the U.S. Marine Corps where "he did fine." Doubt is obviously autobiographical - but "not about my life!" - and his next play, Defiance, continues both the autobiographical incidents and the "D" series of plays which will eventually include a third work in the "D" trilogy. Defiance is scheduled for a September 12-October 5 run at Seattle's fine ReAct Theatre. It's the tale of an African American Marine captain in the Vietnam era who is insistent that he is "a Marine who is black" and not a "black Marine." It was a stunner in New York, and, like Doubt, should be a stunner in Seattle. Details at (206) 364-3283. And, "small world" department, the African American actor who will lead Defiance will play Jim (the runaway slave) in Taproot's summer production of Big River, the musical reworking of The Adventures of Huck Finn. The actor is currently The Cannibal King in the remarkable production of Side Show, which closes this weekend at the ambitious Capital Playhouse in Olympia. Ticket and reservation information is available at (206) 781-9707. This scribe has no doubt you will be glad you make the effort to attend.