<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16788" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">CVLT cast offers a
reasonable <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Doubt<?xml:namespace prefix =
o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></I></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times/The Solon Times/The Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=managedhtml
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6.75pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Chagrin Valley
Times </I>1/22/09<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The
1960s was a time of discord and confusion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The comfortably conservative traditions of one decade were conflicting
with the liberalism </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">of
the next, leaving two generations in a state of disarray.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Opposition to a war divided the
nation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The civil rights movement
was gaining momentum amidst the assassination of its leaders. Doubt reigned
supreme as Americans tried to make sense of a world in
flux.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Playwright
John Patrick Shanley sets his award winning drama <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Doubt: A Parable</I> smack in the middle of
the 1960s, where the personal doubts of his characters are shrouded in the
cultural, political and social doubts of the period.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He places the action within the confines
of </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">St.
Nicholas</SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">parochial
school as the Catholic Church was going through its own turmoil.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Vatican II attempted to bring the Church
into the 20<SUP>th</SUP> century and many began to doubt the sanctity and
security of this sacred institution. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">In this
play, the old-school school principal, Sister Aloysius, suspects young Father
Flynn of having an inappropriate relationship with an eighth grade boy.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The Sister and Father have been at
philosophical odds since his arrival at the Parish, raising doubt about her
motivations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She engages in a
ruthless and potentially unjustified pursuit of the truth.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Knowing
what we now know about the existence of pedophilia in the Church, doubts arise
about Father Flynn’s innocence but without any real evidence to support it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He protests and holds fast to his virtue
and moral fortitude.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Does he
protest too much?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
wonderfully woven tale is currently in production at the Chagrin Valley Little
Theatre.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Under the perceptive
direction of Don Edelman and within an impressive set designed by Edmond Wolff,
an engaging cast relays the essentials of this story and provides a very solid,
thought-provoking evening’s entertainment.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">What is
missing, at least during the opening night performance, is the subtlety and
balance that this play requires in order for the audience to absorb all the
innuendo and mounting tiers of suspicion and leave the theatre in… doubt.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Imagine
a pendulum, which the playwright intends to slightly sway from one character’s
perspective to the next, offering ambiguity, uncertainty and dramatic
intrigue.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Mr. Edelman has the
pendulum swinging broadly, resulting in a he said/she said struggle that allows
the audience to too easily take sides rather than constantly weight
options.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The four actors give fine
performances but they are largely one-dimensional.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Drama is created on the CVLT stage, but
little intrigue.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Harriet
DeVeto, as Sister Aloysius, has created a wonderful persona that is easy to
distain, and her rational thought and unflagging conviction make for convincing
arguments against the priest. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>However, she displays too much fervor,
punching out lines as if they were punch lines.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The Sister comes across as more caustic
and mean spirited than cunning, which diminishes the doubt she should be
generating.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Eric
Oswald is a very likable and endearing Father Flynn, but neither the character’s
charisma nor vulnerability—necessary contrasting complexities that keep the
audience guessing about whether Flynn is priest or predator—come through.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Cheryl
Winslow, as the novice nun in charge of the eighth graders, is pivotal in
reinforcing the uncertainty in this drama.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It should never be clear whether she reluctantly confesses her suspicions
about the Father to Sister Aloysius or whether Sister Aloysius has planted the
seeds of doubt.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It should never be
clear whether Father Flynn truly convinces her of his innocence or takes
advantage of hers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Ms. Winslow’s
Sister James is meek rather than self-doubting, which dims the dynamic between
the characters.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">As the
boy’s mother, Sharron McPherson-Foxx does a fine job revealing the desperation
of a parent fighting to insure that her child has a better life than she had,
even in the hands of a potential pedophile. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Absent is the realization that she is a
lower-middle-class black woman in 1964 confronting Sister Aloysius, an
intimidating white authority figure. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The
CVLT offers a reasonable <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Doubt</I>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It captures the essence of this complex
play, if not its nuance, and does so until February 7 in nearby Chagrin
Falls.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>