Some dramatic themes are relevant generation after generation.
So it is with “Doubt: A Parable,” according to Jeff Johnston, who is directing a production of the play opening Jan. 28 at The Theatre Factory in Trafford and running Thursdays-Sundays through March 5.
“This piece calls into question a lot of important issues — child safety, political uncertainty, the fight for equality,” he said. “It takes place right after John F. Kennedy assassination, and the nation was facing uncertainty as to where it was going. The civil rights movement had really picked up at that time and right now, today, we have political uncertainty and we’re navigating through the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The 2004 play by John Patrick Shanley is set in a small Catholic school in the Bronx during the fall of 1964. It opens with the parish priest, Father Flynn, delivering a sermon on the importance of having doubts.
The theme runs throughout the play, as the school’s principal, Sister Aloysius, receives information that the priest has had a private meeting with the school’s first Black student, with circumstances leading her to believe that sexual misconduct occurred.
A complex web of suspicion and mistrust is woven as Sister Aloysius disputes the priest’s explanation for the meeting and involves the student’s mother. The nun pursues her own solution to the problem without necessarily seeking the ultimate truth of the situation.
“The show revolves around the doubt that the principal of the school faces around the safety of that school,” Johnston said. “From a theatrical standpoint, the question is, did the priest of the school abuse the child or not?
“There’s a lot of additional doubt in the show,” he added. “Every character faces their own unique barrier of challenge fueled by the concept of doubt itself.”
Behind closed doors
As director, Johnston said he had to create his own theory on the priest’s guilt or innocence.
“There’s the decision of what actually happened behind closed doors that I had to make. It’s a secret that is between me and my actor, conceptually,” he said. “It’s something I came up with years ago that I hadn’t told anybody until I told the actor playing the priest, and he’s sworn to secrecy.
“The rest of the cast doesn’t know what happened,” he added.
Courtesy of Jeff Johnston
Elizabeth Glyptis (left) as Sister James and Eric Leslie as Father Flynn rehearse for “Doubt: A Parable,” opening Jan. 28 at The Theatre Factory in Trafford.
Another challenge Johnston said he faces is to accurately represent the struggles of each of the play’s four characters.
“We have the mother of the African American child whose safety is in question,” he said. “I want to make sure I tell her story honestly, without putting forth any harmful stereotypes or misrepresenting her experience.”
Cast members include Eric Leslie of Brookline, as Father Flynn; Christy Rodibaugh of Shaler, as Sister Aloysius; Randi Walker of Monroeville, as the student’s mother, Mrs. Muller; and Elizabeth Glyptis of Pittsburgh, as Sister James.
Stage manager is Sue Kurey of North Versailles.
Johnston, a Mt. Washington resident, has a theater degree from Duquesne University and has been acting and directing in amateur and semi-professional theater around Pittsburgh for about 8 years, including Little Lake Theatre, South Park Theatre and Pittsburgh New Works Festival. “Doubt” is his third directorial outing for The Theatre Factory.
Honesy and ambiguity
“Doubt: A Parable” won four 2005 Tony Awards, including Best Play. Playwright Shanley also received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A 2008 movie version starring Meryl Streep and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman was nominated for five Academy Awards.
The Theatre Factory production was first slated for the 2019-20 season, but was delayed due to the pandemic. Johnston said he first became interested in staging it after seeing a 2014 production.
His director’s statement says he was “captivated by the story’s honesty and ambiguity,” leading him to ponder these questions: “How do we know our children are safe?”, “Is it better to live in ignorance?” and “Who can we trust?”
Presenting thought-provoking material is part of The Theatre Factory’s mission, he said.
“We regularly try to diversify our repertoire, not only presenting musicals and door-slamming farces, but also presenting some artistic pieces that would challenge our audiences to really think about the world around them,” he said.
“Because of the discussions of abuse of a child, I wouldn’t recommend this show for young audiences,” he added.
Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20, or $15 on Thursdays.
Audience members will be required to wear masks, which the theater will supply if needed.
For information and ticket reservations, call 412-374-9200 or visit thetheatrefactory.org.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley at 724-836-5750, smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
"Factory" - Google News
January 21, 2022 at 12:17AM
https://ift.tt/3FOhTK5
Trafford's Theatre Factory stages Tony, Pulitzer award-winner 'Doubt' - TribLIVE
"Factory" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2TEEPHn
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Trafford's Theatre Factory stages Tony, Pulitzer award-winner 'Doubt' - TribLIVE"
Post a Comment