Theatre Guild of Hampden, Hampden, MA
through October 11, 2015
by Stuart W. Gamble
“What do you do when you’re not sure?” is a question posed
to the audience/parishioners by Father Flynn (Heath Verill) at the beginning of
John Patrick Shanley’s drama “Doubt.” And for the next 80 minutes (there is no
intermission), the audience, like a trial jury, must uncover the truth, however
elusive it may be.
Presiding over this “court” is the icily stern Sister
Aloysius (Jeanne Wysocki), principal of St. Nicholas Catholic School in the
Bronx, whose strict orthodoxy excludes art and dance, both of which she
believes are a waste of time. She even says that “Frosty the Snowman should be
banned from the airwaves” for its promotion of magic. Her interrogations of the
gentle, idealistic Sister James (KK Walulak), a history teacher at the school,
and her obsession to “bring him (Flynn) down,” form the central story line in
“Doubt.
The Theatre Guild of Hampden’s production of “Doubt” is assuredly
directed by TGH Artistic Director Mark Giza. This production is notable for its
simplicity, and its ability to provoke audience thought. The simple central set
consists of two chairs, a desk, a small table with religious icons, and a bust
of JFK. The billowy, white curtains and folk guitar strands of “How Great Thou
Art” and “Amazing Grace” lend gentle contrast to the darker elements of the
play.
“Doubt” is uniformly well acted by a competent cast.
Verrill’s affability and Wysoki’s puritanical nun in their fierce battle of
wills, come off best. Walulak, and Diane Flynn as a student’s troubled mother,
lend sincere support to the principle characters.
Set in 1964, during the height of the Cold War, “Doubt, A
Parable” (the play’s full title), when uncertainty and winds of ideological
change were blowing about, Shanley’s literate drama presents its audience with
a disturbing situation without simple solutions.
