Theatre program readies for 'Doubt'

Performances will be Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 17-19, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall’s Black Box Theatre. The run will conclude with a Sunday matinee on Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. The show is for mature audiences only because of subject matter.

The play, written by John Patrick Shanley, won both the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony award for best play in 2005. It was subsequently adapted for film and directed by Mr. Shanley featuring the impressive cast of Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis.   

The cast of CSC’s version features Mason Quinn of Cheyenne, Wyo., as Father Branden Flynn, Shalee Jones of Minatare as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, Amber Nightingale of Morrill as Sister James, and Le’Chere Campbell of Bellevue as Mrs. Muller.

Roger Mays, CSC director of theatre, said “Doubt” is a beautifully written story that is a social play, a debate play, a mystery, a suspense story and a parable. During the show’s Broadway run, those who had seen it refused to discuss the plot with those who had not, as one of “Doubt’s” major attractions is the surprises and plot twists that Shanley finely crafted, Mays said.

The action of the play takes place at a Catholic parish and school in 1964 during both the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination and the beginning of changes in the church resulting from the Second Vatican Council.  

CSC’s production will be performed in the Black Box Theatre in an arena style stage, with the audience close to the actors and seated on all four sides. Mays said the setting creates a greater intimacy between audience and actors, and makes the drama and revelations of the play all the more powerful. Because of the arena seating, tickets for each performance are limited to 80 and are likely to go fast.

Tickets can be reserved by calling the CSC Box Office at 308-432-6207 or by e-mailing boxoffice@csc.edu.