A nun with nasty habits and a priest with secrets to hide – what could be more dramatic than that?

John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt, which inspired the recent Academy Award-nominated movie of the same name, takes place during the troubled times of the ‘60s in an edifice which is part seminary, part nunnery and part school. There is only one black child at the school and the priest, Father Brendan Flynn (Trevor Leigh), has taken this student under his wing, knowing the difficulties this student will have fitting in.

The head nun, Sister Aloysius (Nancy Palk), suspects there may be something more going on and, without substantiating anything, attempts to elicit the support of Sister James (Tova Smith) who is the student’s inexperienced and timid teacher.

The play opens with Father Flynn standing alone on stage delivering a sermon about doubt. This is where the audience begins to have doubts about the play itself. Even though the play is set in the Bronx, why is it necessary for the priest to have a Bronx accent?

He has been to three parishes in five years so there’s a good chance he’s not from the Bronx. Besides, Leigh isn’t very convincing with that accent.

Once the opening sermon has concluded, the stage is set for the dance between Sister Aloysius and Sister James, as the former attempts to dominate and bully the latter into submitting to becoming her spy and unwilling accomplice in the defrocking of Father Flynn.

Palk does an admirable job of portraying the intolerant, aging, sexless Sister Aloysius. She is stern and unbending, believing that teachers should not show warmth to their students because it weakens them. And she doesn’t let facts, or a lack of them, stand in the way of her campaign against Father Flynn.

Sister James is an interesting mix. Meek, mild and easily swayed, she has enough backbone to stand up against Sister Aloysius’ emotional onslaught and remain neutral, becoming an excellent foil.

One scene makes this play: Sister Aloysius has requested the attendance of the black child’s mother (Lesley Ewen) at her office. The purpose, or so it initially seems, is to discuss how her son is getting along in the school. It is quickly revealed that Sister Aloysius is attempting to elicit another accomplice. Ewen plays her role to perfection revealing some interesting secrets in the process.

Will Sister Aloysius succeed in her campaign? Is Father Flynn guilty of the sins Sister Aloysius imagines him to be? Only attendance at the play will answer those questions.

Published in Volume 63, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 19, 2009)