DOUBT: A PARABLE to Open at Hendersonville Theatre

Hendersonville Theatre will present John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, Doubt: A Parable. This thought-provoking production will run for a limited engagement, inviting audiences to experience its gripping story of morality, uncertainty, and power. The play runs from April 12-13. 

This special presentation of Doubt: A Parable will be performed as a Reader's Theatre production. It will feature costumes and light staging to enhance the storytelling while focusing on the robust dialogue and character dynamics.

One of the most acclaimed plays in American theater history, Doubt: A Parable is a riveting psychological drama that explores the fine line between truth and ambiguity. Set in a Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964, Doubt follows Sister Aloysius, a rigid and conservative principal, as she suspects Father Flynn, a charismatic and progressive priest, of inappropriate conduct. As she investigates, the play delves into the complexities of moral certainty and the power of doubt. Without proof but armed with her convictions, Sister Aloysius embarks on a relentless pursuit of truth, forcing the audience to confront their own beliefs about justice, faith, and the nature of certainty.

Since its debut, Doubt has captivated audiences with its sharp dialogue, intense character dynamics, and timeless themes. The play challenges viewers to question their perceptions and navigate the gray areas of moral certainty.

"Through its well-written scenes and tense dialogue, Doubt forces the audience to question everything and to decide for themselves what is fact and fiction," Managing Artistic Director Victoria Lamberth said. "We are thrilled to bring this compelling story to Hendersonville Theatre's stage and invite our community to engage in the conversation it sparks."

When the play debuted, Ben Brantley of The New York Times proclaimed it "an inspired study in moral uncertainty with the compellingly certain structure of an old-fashioned detective drama. Even as Doubt holds your conscious attention as an intelligently measured debate play, it sends off stealth charges that go deeper emotionally."

Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, Tony, Drama Desk, New York Drama Critics' Circle, and Lucille Lortel awards for Best Play, Doubt received its world premiere in 2004 and transferred to Broadway in March 2005. In 2008, Shanley (who also directed) adapted it into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep.

Writer Shanley has written numerous plays, television, and film, with credits including Congo, Joe Versus the Volcano, and the Academy Award-winning Moonstruck. Born in the Bronx, where this play is set, Shanley was raised Catholic and drew from his educational experiences at the hands of the Sisters of Charity. "There was a quality of certainty being exercised around me that something in me was answering with something that felt very powerful called doubt," he said. In the preface to the play, he writes, "Doubt requires more courage than conviction does, and more energy, because conviction is a resting place and doubt is infinite."

Directed by Patricia Sands, the talented cast includes HT newcomers Ana-Alicia Carroll as Mrs. Muller and Mary Weisgerber as Sister James. They join HT veterans Skyler Goff as Father Flynn and Joan Rinchinsen as Sister Aloysius.