[NEohioPAL] "Doubt, a Parable" opens at Rabbit Run Theater

[Rabbit Run]

FOR:               Rabbit Run Community Arts Association

                        P. O. Box 235, 49 Park St.

                        Madison, OH  44057

 

CONTACT:    Karen Ziegler, Publicist

                        440-428-5913

 

DATE:            June 14, 2011

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Doubt, a Parable, opens at Rabbit Run Theater

 

Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play, Doubt, a
Parable, opens at Rabbit Run Theater, Friday, June 17.

 

Doubt, set in 1964, is a gripping story with a powerful script that centers
on the questionable behavior of a Catholic priest.  The play is, however,
less about scandal and more about moral certainty.

 

Sister Aloysius,  principal of an urban parish grade school, appears as
stiff and starched as her wimple and uniformly strikes terror in the hearts
of the students with her austerity and rigid discipline.  Inwardly, she
possesses a strength of character and depth of conviction that offsets her
austere mannerisms.

 

It is this depth that steels her in her confrontations with the parish
priest Father Flynn.  Armed with circumstantial evidence Sister Aloysius
approaches Fr. Flynn concerning his possibly inappropriate relationship with
a boy in the school.  Their ensuing dialogues are intense, passionate,
compelling and most of all thought provoking.

 

Doubt, written by John Patrick Shanley, deftly demonstrates through these
encounters an empathy in the minds of the audience members for both Father
Flynn and Sister Aloysius.

 

"This is not just 'another story' about clerical impropriety", said Ann
Hedger, director of Doubt.   "The subject matter is merely the vehicle.  I
think Doubt is a play about truth, not about facts, and why we believe the
things we believe.  It is designed to make us question what we believe is
certain."

 

"It is unique because it is a 'parable', a story to make us think, told from
beginning to end in a short period of time.  There is no intermission, so
there is no time to walk out and ponder; you have to take it all in at once
and then think about it.  It is a compelling piece of theatre, with the
emphasis on compelling.  Audience members will not be able to walk out of
this show and not talk about it at length afterwards."

 

Hedger is the Programming Coordinator at The Fine Arts Association and also
the creator/director of their annual One Act Festival.  Other area theatres
she has directed at include Geauga Lyric Theater Guild and the River Street
Theatre.  At Rabbit Run her directing credits include Frost/Nixon, Educating
Rita and Sleuth.

 

Sister Aloysius is played by Nancy Shimonek Brooks.  With a BFA in acting
and directing from Kent State University, Shimonek has worked with Porthouse
Theatre, Ohio Performing Arts Company, and LEAP Actors Co.  She has appeared
in previous Rabbit Run productions including The Light in the Piazza,
Educating Rita and Nunsense.

 

David Malinowski portrays Father Flynn.  Malinowski is a member of the
theatre faculty at the Fine Arts Association and has performed locally at
Geauga Lyric Theater Guild, the Fine Arts Association and Rabbit Run.

 

Other members of the cast include Evie Koh (Sister James) and Maria Thomas
Lister plays Mrs. Mueller.  Koh has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra,
the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Blossom Festival Chorus, and the Ohio
Wesleyan University Choral Art Society.  Lister has appeared in productions
at the Great Lakes Theater Festival, the Fine Arts Association, Lakeland
Civic Theatre as well as Rabbit Run Theater.

 

Patrons looking for refreshments after the show may stay for Dessert and
Dialogue.  Cookies, muffins, beverages and specialty coffees will be
available for purchase immediately after each performance.  Patrons will
also have an opportunity to sit and relax in the theater's courtyard and
"dialogue" about the show with the director and/or actors.  

 

Doubt, a Parable, opens Friday, June 17, and runs through Saturday, June 25.
Tickets are $19/adult and $17/senior, student.  Tickets are available by
calling the box office at 440-428-7092 or online at www.rabbitrunonline.org
<http://www.rabbitrunonline.org/> .  Box office hours are Wednesday through
Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m.

 

All shows begin at 8 p.m.  Rabbit Run Theater is located at 5648 W. Chapel
Rd., Madison, and is one of the few remaining barn theaters in Ohio.  Rabbit
Run operates under the auspices of Rabbit Run Community Arts Association and
receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council.

 

 

 

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