Doubt: A Parable

At a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, Sister Aloysius harbors suspicions about the charismatic Father Flynn, who has taken a special interest in the school’s first Black student. As her concern grows into the belief that something inappropriate is happening, she enlists the aid of the young and idealistic Sister James, as well as the boy’s mother. As the confrontation between Aloysius and Flynn builds, Shanley challenges the audience to grapple with their own suspicions. Each conversation in Shanley’s electric script touches deep ethical issues of faith and doubt, good and evil, power and powerlessness, during a time of social change. The language is strikingly personal as these characters seek to chart a path forward in this dramatic powder keg that garnered both the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best New Play.

Doubt is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service.