2008 Woodie Awards
Ain't no Doubt about it: Cherry Jones shines
Katie Greer
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Arts and Entertainment
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Little is more conflicted in history than religion. The essential question used to separate believers from non-believers is faith versus doubt.
John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning musing on the topic of doubt conveys that central theme brilliantly, though it shrouds it in more current issues, specifically that of the ongoing priest scandals within the Catholic Church.
A vague title like Doubt could have easily applied to any number of situations, because every circumstance and every decision involves a little bit of doubt. Shanley sets the play in a Bronx parochial school in the 1960s, a choice that lends it power and relevance.
Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius is the fearsome nun from the childhood of every boy and girl who went to Catholic school, but makes the stereotype her own. She is a widow with a grating voice and severe osteoporosis. She is eternally formal and fits the staunch, dogmatic faith of the Catholic Church to a T, following convention perfectly.
Jones incorporates the minute physical details of the character with a dry, all-knowing attitude that gleams from her bespectacled eyes. The audience will truly begin to believe that Jones' Sister Aloysius really can see through walls and sense whenever lies are being told.
The main conflict of Doubt is the tug-of-war between Jones' outstanding yet traditional Sister and the parish priest, Father Flynn. The Sister suspects Flynn of abusing one of the boys and is determined to root out this crime, though she has no definitive proof. Another plotline is that Donald Muller, the aforementioned boy, is the first black student at the school, though that is less important than the possibility of abuse. It is her conviction and her unflinching faith that Flynn has done wrong that serves as the catalyst for action.
Jones is clearly the best actress in Doubt. She received a Tony award for the role in 2005 after acting on Broadway in numerous plays, including Angels in America and The Heiress, for which she won another Tony.
John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning musing on the topic of doubt conveys that central theme brilliantly, though it shrouds it in more current issues, specifically that of the ongoing priest scandals within the Catholic Church.
A vague title like Doubt could have easily applied to any number of situations, because every circumstance and every decision involves a little bit of doubt. Shanley sets the play in a Bronx parochial school in the 1960s, a choice that lends it power and relevance.
Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius is the fearsome nun from the childhood of every boy and girl who went to Catholic school, but makes the stereotype her own. She is a widow with a grating voice and severe osteoporosis. She is eternally formal and fits the staunch, dogmatic faith of the Catholic Church to a T, following convention perfectly.
Jones incorporates the minute physical details of the character with a dry, all-knowing attitude that gleams from her bespectacled eyes. The audience will truly begin to believe that Jones' Sister Aloysius really can see through walls and sense whenever lies are being told.
The main conflict of Doubt is the tug-of-war between Jones' outstanding yet traditional Sister and the parish priest, Father Flynn. The Sister suspects Flynn of abusing one of the boys and is determined to root out this crime, though she has no definitive proof. Another plotline is that Donald Muller, the aforementioned boy, is the first black student at the school, though that is less important than the possibility of abuse. It is her conviction and her unflinching faith that Flynn has done wrong that serves as the catalyst for action.
Jones is clearly the best actress in Doubt. She received a Tony award for the role in 2005 after acting on Broadway in numerous plays, including Angels in America and The Heiress, for which she won another Tony.
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