‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Liev Schreiber & Zoe Kazan. Photo: Joan Marcus

DOUBT: A PARABLE
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Scott Ellis
Through April 21, 2024
Todd Haines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By David NouNou

To date, John Patrick Shanley’s 2005 Pulitzer Prize Award-winning play Doubt: A Parable is still one of the finest and most concise dramas ever written. At 90 minutes, it gives us an account of a nun, a priest and an accusation—and it is riveting.

Set in 1964 at St. Nicholas, a Catholic church and school in the Bronx, NY, it starts with Father Brendan Flynn (Liev Schreiber) giving us a sermon about a shipwrecked sailor lost at sea for days, having doubts in the direction where he is drifting. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Amy Ryan) has doubts about anything decent in life, especially Father Flynn’s benevolence. Sister James (Zoe Kazan) not only is the assistant to Sister Aloysius but also plays the eyes and ears—and is in doubt about everything she enjoys in life being sucked out of her by the demanding Sister Aloysius. The last character is Mrs. Malloy (Quincy Tyler Bernsteine), the mother of the only Black boy at St. Nicholas who is befriended by Father Flynn.

In its original production, Doubt was brilliantly staged by Doug Hughes and performed in the highest caliber by Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius and Bryan F. O’Byrne as Father Flynn. That production had shadings that kept you shifting allegiances. With the exception of Mr. Schreiber, this is an uneven production.

Actors are supposed to bring in their own interpretations to any role and should never try to replicate anyone else’s performance. However, the actor also has to bring shadings to extreme characters especially when they are hell bent on destruction. Amy Ryan, a very capable actress, was a last-minute replacement for Tyne Daly. She is diminutive in stature as compared to the imposing, larger-than-life Mr. Schreiber. Her portrayal of Sister Aloysius is evil incarnate. There is no wiggle room in her performance to give her some space to make her more objective or try to see her viewpoint of what she perceives to be the duty of a headstrong principal of the school. She just sucks out any joy from any life force.

This is where Mr. Schreiber’s charm, charisma and stage presence comes in and brings much needed oxygen back to the stage. Whether there is any proof that he has any guilt on the 12-year-old Black boy by supplying him with altar wine or doing anything inappropriate is unevenly balanced because of the nature of the two antagonists.

Zoe Kazan gives a touching, tortured, conflicted performance as young Sister James who has been so burned by the elder sister. Quincy Tyler Bernstine has a beautiful turn as the mother of the boy who just wants her son to pass the semester so he can go to a good school. Her scene with Sister Aloysius is genuinely touching and she wants nothing to do with her personal vendetta scheming.

In the end it falls on Scott Ellis’ unbalanced direction which has Ms. Ryan floundering when she cries; she has doubts about everything. You feel nothing for her because she instigated the events not from any facts but pure evil, so there is no shifting of allegiance or compassion from one character to the other.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 15, 2024
Reviewed at March 14, 2024 press performance.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Amy Ryan & Zoe Kazan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Amy Ryan & Quincy Tyler Bernstine. Photo: Joan Mrcus.

‘DOUBT: A PARABLE’: Liev Schreiber & Amy Ryan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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EMERALD ISLE GEM: Brian F. O’Byrne & Debra Messing in ‘Outside Mullingar.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

OUTSIDE MULLINGAR
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Doug Hughes
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.ManahattanTheatreClub.com

By David NouNou

You know the old saying, “The two things you can be certain of in life are death and taxes”? Well, the two things you can be sure of in any Irish themed-play are talks about deaths and wakes, but seldom are they told as humorously, charmingly and tenderly as in John Patrick Shanley’s new play, Outside Mullingar. However, this is not the main focus of the show; it is just the framework of this lovely and delicately written play.

Anthony Reilly (Brian F. O’Byrne) and his father Tony Reilly (Peter Maloney) have just returned home after attending the Muldoon wake. Muldoon is survived by his wife Aoife (Dearbhla Molloy) and his daughter Rosemary (Debra Messing). The Reillys and Muldoons also happen to be across-the-road neighbors, so there is a bond between the families. Tony is old and realizes his mortality, so his big dilemma is whether he should leave his land to his shy and introverted son Anthony or sell it to an American cousin. In order to be able to sell said property, there is a piece of the driveway that has been sold to the Muldoons 30 years earlier when Tony needed money to buy a ring for his now-deceased wife. Papa Muldoon gave this piece of land to Rosemary as a present when she was a little girl. Naturally, Rosemary refuses to sell this piece for her own personal reasons. So starts this wonderful little tale of Blarney.

Mr. Shanley knows how to write delectable parts for actors who start out as introverted caterpillars and then bloom into beautiful butterflies. Who could ever forget his Oscar-winning screenplay for Moonstruck? Instead of the metropolis of Brooklyn and Italians, he mixes it up with farmland Mullingar and the Irish. It may not be as mesmerizing as Moonstruck, but it still hits the right chords to make us care, for his characters, all of whom are imbued with humanity and humor.

Mr. O’Byrne is an incredible stage actor and also one of the finest. He is also blessed with stage presence and charisma. Broadway audiences first saw him in Martin McDonough’s The Beauty Queen of Leanane, followed by countless plays: Tom Stoppard’s epic The Coast of Utopia, his Tony- winning role in Frozen, and Mr. Shanley’s earlier, brilliant Doubt (one of the best plays ever written). Mr. O’Byrne has always delivered a new character to each of his new roles, and Anthony is no exception. One can’t help but want to protect and cheer for this shy noble caterpillar who will ultimately find its wing and soar.

It is such a pleasure to report that Debra Messing is making an auspicious Broadway debut. She is still as beautiful as she was in the TV sitcom “Will & Grace” and thankfully has managed to shed her cloying, needy and selfish Grace persona. She is a delicious frumpy spitfire here, and manages to pull off a creditable Irish brogue.

Peter Maloney is a wonderful veteran stage character actor who first came on the Broadway scene in Hughie/Duet  with Ben Gazzara in1975. How gratifying to finally see him do an original part that hopefully gets him some recognition come Tony season. His cantankerous Tony is full of humor, anxiety and thorniness. His scenes with the equally delightful Ms. Molloy are a joy as they volley their barbs against each other.

Mr. Shanley has a wonderful director in Doug Hughes. They both won their Tonys for Doubt. They understand each other’s language and rhythms, thus they complement each other for the stage. Outside Mullingar may not be inspirational, but it will certainly put a smile on your face and give you a warm, fuzzy glow on these cold and snowy New York nights.

FAMILY FRIENDS: Debra Messing and Peter Maloney in ‘Outside Mullingar.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Tony Nominated for Best Play of 2014

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 26, 2014
Reviewed at  press performance on January 25, 2014

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