Doubt: A Parable

Play

Writers: John Patrick Shanley

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
1
Tony Award®
Best Play 2005
First Produced
2005
Genres
Drama
Settings
Multiple Settings
Time & Place
st. nicholas church school, the bronx, ny, 1964
Cast Size
small
Ideal for
College/University, Community Theatre, Mature Audiences, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Star Vehicle Male
Casting Notes
Mostly female cast
Includes mature adult, young adult, adult characters

Synopsis

What do you do when you’re not sure?” So asks Father Flynn, the progressive and beloved priest at the St. Nicholas Church School in the Bronx, in his sermon. It’s 1964, and things are changing, to the chagrin of rigid principal Sister Aloysius. However, when an unconscionable accusation is leveled against the Father, Sister Aloysius realizes that the only way to get justice is to create it herself. And as for the truth of the matter? As Father Flynn says, "Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.” In stunning prose, John Patrick Shanley delves into the murky shadows of moral certainty, his characters always balancing on the thin line between truth and consequences. Doubt: A Parable is an exquisite, potent drama that will raise questions and answer none, leaving the audience to grapple with the discomfort of their uncertainties.

Lead Characters


Doubt: A Parable guide sections