Doubts linger about Steel Beam's 'Doubt'

Posted January 15, 2009 10:00 pm

By Scott C. Morgan

Mother-and-daughter team Donna and Amy Steele star in Steel Beam Theatre's "Doubt" in St. Charles.

Call it great timing or a scheduling snafu: Steel Beam Theatre is producing John Patrick Shanley's 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Doubt" in St. Charles just weeks after its big-screen adaptation hit cineplexes nationwide.

All the "Doubt" film publicity could stoke the curiosity of audiences to go see the original play.

Or it could backfire. "Doubt" movie tickets are generally cheaper, and you do get performances by Academy Award-winners Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the mix.

Since film and theater are two different media (and since I haven't seen the "Doubt" film), I'll refrain from comparisons. Besides, it's not really fair for anyone to enter into an acting smackdown with Meryl Streep.

The supreme reason to catch Steel Beam's "Doubt" is Donna Steele's superlative performance as the stalwart nun Sister Aloysius Beauvier. Steele gets Sister Aloysius' drive and certainty down just right, from her steely bespectacled gaze to her severe lecturing voice.

As principal of St. Nicholas Catholic Church and School in New York in 1964, Sister Aloysius represents the old Catholic order in terms of etiquette and interaction with students. She would rather be seen by students as frightening rather than approachable, and she loathes standard-lowering things like ballpoint pens (she sees them ruining the state of good penmanship).

Sister Aloysius clashes with the new parish priest, Father Brendan Flynn, who is all about embracing change and presenting a less rigid face to the Catholic Church. But when Sister Aloysius finds out that Father Flynn has been showing special attention to the school's first African-American student, the unseen Donald Muller, she immediately suspects a sexually abusive relationship.

Some might see Sister Aloysius' drive to root out Father Flynn as a personal vendetta, while others might view it as unbending fortitude to protect her students the only way she can without resorting to the church hierarchy which might cover it up. That's the great thing about "Doubt" since it provides no firm answers and prods the audience to question their own beliefs on matters of faith and truth, not to mention the gender inequities in the Catholic Church.

Alas, the rest of the cast doesn't live up to Steele's commanding Sister Aloysius. Dennis Edwards comes the closest as Father Flynn, though he's not an equal sparring partner.

Part of the reason why is that director Terence Domschke and Edwards make Father Flynn more effeminate and theatrical than previously butcher interpretations of the role (Edwards' delivery of the priest's second sermon on gossip sounds more like he's auditioning for a Lucky Charms cereal commercial rather than using the pulpit to lash back at Sister Aloysius).

While the possibility of homophobia driving Sister Aloysius' crusade brings an interesting angle to the play, it was a choice that lessened the conflict for me.

As Sister James, the young nun who regrets setting the battle in motion, Amy Steele certainly puts on a show of exuberance and innocence (which is the problem since the performance feels more affected than genuine when she must plumb the depths of her own trust).

As Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller, Kim Lewis is the weakest link. Lewis goes into her crucial single scene with Sister Aloysius in a lecturing mood before switching to generalized sadness. It's a difficult character and situation to pull off convincingly and Lewis misses much of Mrs. Muller's conflicted and heartbreaking emotions.

Though it isn't perfect, Steel Beam's "Doubt" certainly is timely and a worthy theatergoing experience. Besides, seeing Steel Beam's limited run of "Doubt" supports the local economy, while you hold off on the movie version until it hits DVD.

Father Flynn (Dennis Edwards), Sister James (Amy Steele) and Sister Aloysius (Donna Steele) meet to discuss the Christmas pageant in Steel Beam Theatre's "Doubt."

Sister Aloysius (Donna Steele) meets with Mrs. Muller (Kim Lewis) in Steel Beam Theatre's "Doubt."

"Doubt" Two and a half stars Location: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles Times: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 8 Running time: 95 minutes with no intermission Tickets: $25; $23 seniors/students Parking: Street parking available Box office: (630) 587-8521 or <a href="http://www.steelbeamtheatre.com" target="new">steelbeamtheatre.com</a> Rating: For teens and older, implied impropriety

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