Austinist Reviews: Doubt

The production got off to a bit of a sluggish start, but that's not unusual for a matinée. It was only a few moments before the pace picked up, and things cooked all the way to the end. Janelle Buchanan plays Sister Aloysius, the stick-straight head of St. Nicholas Catholic School, Bronx, 1964. In the role, Buchanan is part Nurse Ratched, part Cesar Millan. Half the time we shook our heads and even laughed at Sister Aloysius's outrageous attitudes towards teaching middle school children, and the other half we thought she was making some damn fine sense! This is to say that Buchanan took every advantage to make the character—which could easily be played all-Ratched, all-the-time—not only compelling but also complex.

Similarly, Jamie Goodwin's Father Flynn was impossible to pick apart. The story centers on Flynn and whether or not he has sexually abused the school's new and only African American student. The play never gives a clear answer, and we always wonder whether actors in such roles have decided of their character, "Did I...or Didn't I?" To his credit, we're not sure how Goodwin would answer. His performance was nuanced and riveting.

New to us were Sydney Andrews as the wide-eyed, innocent Sister James, and Angela Rawnā as the boy's mother, Mrs. Muller. Both were outstanding. Although Sister Aloysius sees Father Flynn as her nemesis, it is scared but brave Sister James who tries to stand up to Aloysius, and Andrews' young, sweet face beautifully showed James' ever-changing sea of emotions: passion, confusion, obedience, and sorrow. In a complex scene, Rawnā was given only a few moments to fill out pieces of the story and to represent the victim. (Hers is also the only character not dressed in religious garments, and her clothes, hat, handbag, hair, make-up, were period-perfect—kudos to costumer Alison Heryer.) With intense eyes and stern words, Rawnā put a mother's stake in the ground. Heavy stuff, but we hesitate to tell too much of the plot.

Though the plot, or rather the script, is our only nitpick about this work. We're a little surprised Doubt is as lauded as it is. There are aspects of the writing and the way the story unfolds, or doesn't, that we found frustrating...even irritating. This isn't to say it's not good—it is great. Director Steven Dietz has clearly guided his actors to mine the characters for everything they're worth, which is a lot.

So we return to our original assertion—this is a forceful production, chock full of top talent. Doubt is a quick (eighty some-odd minutes, no intermission), intense drop of rather well-known theatre, and Zach is doing a great job with it.