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September 26, 2008
Sex, lies and human frailty
Church-based play deals with issues of lashon hara (gossip).
BAILA LAZARUS
The truth makes for a bad sermon. It tends to be confusing and usually has no satisfactory conclusion. That's why parables are so popular; you can create them at will to make your point.
This is a lesson given by Father Flynn to Sister Aloysius in the hit play Doubt, which takes place in 1964 New York at St. Nicholas School and Church, where Flynn is a new priest and Aloysius is the principal.
But more than a philosophy for how to write a sermon, the idea of fiction being more impactful than truth is the theme that runs through the play, which is an examination of gossip, lies and truth. Ironically, while Flynn uses parables in his sermons to send messages of tolerance and acceptance, Aloysius uses stories and gossip to sully Flynn's career.
Aloysius (Gabrielle Rose) is somewhat shocked to hear that
Flynn (Jonathon Young) lies in his sermons, but then, Aloysius takes issue with a lot of things the father does. He plays basketball with the boys, keeps his nails a little longer than most (but very clean) and he uses a ballpoint pen. These are practices that don't sit well with Aloysius, a tough school marm who doesn't like the changes that are creeping into her surroundings.
She even takes issue with the idea of singing "Frosty the Snowman" at the Christmas pageant because it "encourages a pagan belief in magic," when Frosty comes to life.
Aloysius is a strict disciplinarian who runs St. Nicholas with fear, rather than compassion, and sees herself as the school's moral guardian.
From the moment Flynn becomes the priest at St. Nicholas, Aloysius has a bad feeling about him and sets about finding out the "truth" – but, in her desire to find out what Flynn might have done, or not done, with a particular boy in the school, she crosses the line where questions and accusations become blurred.
It's really impossible, after all, to ask a question like, "Have you noticed if Father Flynn has been singling out one boy in particular?" without immediately causing the listener to suspect something, even though there's no evidence of anything going on.
To help her uncover dirt on Flynn, Aloysius enlists Sister James (Sasa Brown), a mousy, naïve teacher who soon gets caught between Aloysius's accusations and Flynn's denials.
On the one hand, James sees Aloysius as her mentor and wants to do anything to help ensure the safety of the children, but she has her doubts about Aloysius' motives, and finds the principal too strict for her liking.
Indeed, Aloysius takes issue with James' teaching methods, saying she's too soft on the children and should be more distant and less caring. When James objects, Aloysius claims that James might be too naïve to be teaching and chastises her: "Innocence is a form of laziness," Aloysius snaps.
When James can't find any evidence of wrongdoing between Flynn and the student, she chooses to believe Flynn's explanations.
Overall, the play is an interesting look at the serious effect the slightest accusation can have on a reputation, and causes us to examine how often we hold fast to our own opinions about people without any evidence. One of the best lines, which sums up such common human behavior, is when Flynn asks Aloysius what proof she has.
"I have no proof," she says sternly, "but I have my certainty."
The writing is actually the highlight of the play, with Aloysius producing some of the snarkiest (and hilarious) barbs you'll hear on stage. When Flynn begs Aloysius to reconsider her allegations, he asks, "Where is your compassion?" to which Aloysius responds, "Nowhere you can get at it."
But that injection of humor seems at odds with the seriousness of the subject. One moment you're considering the serious impact of jumping to conclusions about people; the next, you're laughing uproariously, having forgotten all about it.
And while director Rachel Ditor does an excellent job with the cast, and there is very little to complain about with regard to the acting, there are a few moments, including the last scene, where a character's about-face seems quite incongruous and not sincere at all. Others theatre-goers disagreed with this assessment, though, so it just goes to show that our own convictions are so personal, there is no universal version of truth.
Written by John Patrick Shanley, Doubt premièred at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2004, then moved to Broadway, where it won a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize for drama, in addition to several other acclamations. It runs at the Stanley Theatre until Oct. 12. For information, visit www.artsclub.com.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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