We take a look at what is being said about the first Broadway revival of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play by John Patrick Shanley.
New York Theatre Guide.com: “Shanley and director Scott Ellis are smart enough not to sway us with their words or their staging. I expect I could return to this production and end up with entirely different certainties and uncertainties. I might do just that.”
New York Times: “Even if nothing else set these two forces in opposition, there would be enough here for a fine play about varieties of faith. But John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt: A Parable,” first seen on Broadway in 2005, is much more than that. It is a sturdy melodrama, an infallible crowd-pleaser, a detective yarn, a character study and an inquest into the unknowable.”
The Guardian: “Schreiber, with his one-time Marvel build, can’t help but play Flynn as a little bit imposing and intimidating; his presence has a natural command and gravitas, the kind that draws an audience toward admiration and respect. His Flynn is also disarmingly colloquial and avuncular; he likes to instruct the boys on their free throw shots.”
Vulture.com: “Although Ellis keeps Shanley’s play feeling fairly digestible, there are moments, as when Bernstine is on stage, when the discomfiting thrum of its title can still be felt. Why do we think we know what we think we know? And about whom do our assumptions ultimately speak?”
Deadline: “Under the assured direction of Scott Ellis, the revival’s cast is unfaltering in its convictions – we believe that they believe every word they say. If Father Flynn is lying – he’s the only character that has reason to – Schreiber doesn’t let on, a real achievement given that he’s not only squaring off against one tough nun, but several decades now of headlines and heightened public awareness of church atrocities.”
Variety: “Amid David Rockwell’s beautifully built rotating set depicting the church’s windows, a garden and the principal’s office, what’s exceedingly interesting about “Doubt,” aside from Schreiber’s standout performance, has nothing to do with Sisork ter Aloysius’ indication or righteousness or if Father Flynn is or isn’t a pedophile. Instead, the play highlights how easy it is for influential people to prey on the vulnerable and how the systems we revere are complicit in demonizing those with the most to lose, while shielding the powerful from harm and repercussions.”
New York Post: “But director Scott Ellis’ production has a bothersome tendency to ride the brakes. Every time the drama is about to really pack a punch, it stops and slows down. Shanley’s thunderous climax drizzles.”
Stage and Cinema.com: “The person dead center in eye of this ever-shifting maelstrom is fantastic actress Amy Ryan as Sr. Aloysius. Already both an Academy Award nominee and Tony Award nominee, Ryan grabs onto this role with both hands and doesn’t let go. Her Aloysius is firm, strong, stalwart and almost fanatical in her belief – not so much in the Church itself but in the value of discipline and control.”
TheatreMania.com: “Doubt is still one of the essential dramas of our time, with a story that is more relevant than ever.”
The Wrap: “It’s also nice to report that the first production into the newly renamed theater is a real winner. “Doubt” worked beautifully off Broadway in 2004 (and again, on Broadway the following year), but the dreary 2008 film version with Meryl Streep and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman remains a limp affair that possesses not a smidgen of humor.”
New York Theater.me: “The one stand-out in the cast is Quincy Tyler Bernstine, who has a single scene as the mother of the boy, Donald Muller, to whom Father Flynn pays special attention. Her performance highlights two more tensions in this play – different worldviews revolving around race and class. Bernstine, who has only been on Broadway once before but has been a versatile mainstay Off Broadway for nearly two decades, allows us to understand Mrs. Muller’s indifference to Sister Aloysius’s alarm.”
Broadway News.com: “Ellis’ staging of this tense drama begs for more traction, energy and, ultimately, direction.”
Entertainment Weekly: “But the action on stage is electric, albeit restrained electricity. Rather than going big by pounding on tables and screaming out lines, the cast builds the tension on the stage through their carefully considered moderation.”
ExeuntNYC.com: “Yet, the way she is played, Amy Ryan’s Sister Aloysius is hard to read. Frustrating too is that Ryan is not the terrifying iron fist the principal is described as. She is cagey and calculating but almost too even-keeled. Her emotional intentions were frustratingly vague.”
The Stage: *** “Underpowered revival”
New York Stage Review: **** ” This production might not be overflowing with tension, but Shanley’s text rings truer than ever. He packs more into 90 minutes than most playwrights do into 150. (This season’s revival of his Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and premiere of his Brooklyn Laundry are proof.) And while he may not provide any answers, he’s trusting enough that we’ll figure it out for ourselves.”
Doubt continues to play until the 21st April. To find out more visit: https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2023-2024-season/doubt-a-parable/