DOUBT 2024 Previews- Page 5

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150 percent I do (and this has been discussed to death, no need to revisit). By all means a great performance, but removed a layer for the play’s subtext. Regardless, thrilled this show is back, and shocked it didn’t come sooner. 

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I thought it would be interesting to read the NY Times review in 2004 done by Brantley, see link below.

A Nun Who Is Certain, Even if Truth Is Not - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

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Thanks for explaining Kad. Not my experience with the movie but interesting nonetheless.

 

And I have to laugh at BroadwayNYC2's opinion of "no need to revisit" in a thread about Doubt when there's a thread going on right now about Fish's Oklahoma for the umpteenth time XD

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Kad said: "wsondheim94 said: "You think PSH read as "guilty without even trying"?? I disagree. I think Denis OHare would fall into that category but I'd pay good money to see it."

This was an extremely common criticism of his casting at the time, from what I recall. PSH had an inherent darker quality he brought to his roles, often to very great effect. But, as others have noted, that worked against him in Doubt, because Aloysious looks reasonable to suspect him immediately. The things that initially draw her attention are Flynn's embrace of secularism and progressive reform of the Church- along with her general misanthropy- not suspicion of sexual abuse."

I rewatched the movie yesterday (I think for the first time since it was released) and it played a lot more ambiguous than on my earlier viewing. Maybe it's because there's an inherently more sympathetic element to watching Philip Seymour Hoffmann now vs at the time, but ultimately I could see legitimate interpretations of his being guilty or innocent, or even if the doubts Aloysious professes at the end are about Flynn's guilt or rather if she did the right thing by forcing him out regardless of whether he was guilty or innocent.

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Having only ever seen the film prior, I had always taken Sister Aloysious' doubts at the end to be her doubt in the institution of the Catholic church and even her faith at large, going back to Father Flynn's original sermon.

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Midnight Radio said: "Having only ever seen the film prior, I had always taken Sister Aloysious' doubts at the end to be her doubt in the institution of the Catholic church and even her faith at large, going back to Father Flynn's original sermon.

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I think that her discussion of doubt at the end is meant to mirror the opening sermon about the same subject, and with Cherry Jones, it was pretty clear that her "doubt" was whole- meaning her entire character broke down at the end, as she doubted everything she believed in. I didnt get that as much from Amy Ryan though you make a good point re the staging.

 

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Rainah said: "Seems there's a digital lottery now. No mention of in person lottery on playbill."

It has a digital rush on TodayTix, not a lottery, and the Roundabout website also mentions a general rush at the box office.

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Can someone describe the set design and how it all works in this production? Thanks 

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I saw this last night. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I couldn’t imagine anyone stepping into Cherry Jones’ shoes, though I was eager to see Tyne Daly try. I thought Amy Ryan would be totally wrong for the part if only because I couldn’t see her as a formidable nemesis of the priest. But I was wrong. It actually worked to her advantage since it underscored the challenges faced by nuns in the church hierarchy. And I thought this production was more nuanced than the original with a more ambiguous ending. While I thought Liev Shreiber s too old he had an edge of cynicism which worked by virtue of his age. 
 

 And as others have noted, the play itself is terrific. It gets right to the point and covers so much in its 90 somewhat minutes. And I had forgotten how funny it was. It’s hard to imagine that this is the same playwright who wrote the dreadful Brooklyn Laundry. 

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BarnabyTucker said: "I caught this one this past Thursday and thought it was a competent production of a fantastic play.

My take is that Amy Ryan was leading from a place of fear instead of a place of anger. When Father Flynn was alone with her, I really thought she believed she was in the presence of Satan. This is a woman who has spent her whole life taking orders from the patriarchal diocese, and now she's stepping out of line because she knows unspeakable evils are at work.

Schreiber also offers a very sympathetic performance. I don't think his Father Flynn did what he was accused of, and I've never seen an actor's interpretation of that role that left me feeling that way.

The production lacks momentum and part of me wonders if it's because this Sister Aloysius doesn't carry the bite that Cherry Jones or, to a lesser extent,Meryl Streep brought to the part but I really think it's just poor direction. These four pros are giving exceptional performances and I wish they had a director who would have wrapped it up more neatly for them.

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This is among my favorite plays; I think it’s one of the best of the 21st century. I made a trip this week primarily to see this play. While the production has a lot to like about it, I’ve been trying to process my disappointment with it since Wednesday, and I think you essentially describe my feelings. This is a stellar play, and the four actors here give nice, believable performances. They do an admirable job of finding the humor in the play, and the audience the night I went laughed frequently. But it did not feel like it had a cohesive vision, and that’s 100% on the director. It felt staged rather than directed, and the entire thing felt flat and anticlimactic. I’m not certain it earned its ending. I’m glad I got a chance to see a Broadway production of this; I didn’t get to see the original production. I’d even go again if I could. It’s a beautiful set, and the actors are each doing their best. It’s just a shame the production feels rudderless. 

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I purchased an orchestra box seat listed as partial view for a Saturday matinee, a few days prior I received an email from Roundabout stating those seats were sold in error and they were relocating me to rear orchestra. I was glad to have a full view of the stage and the set is beautiful. Having not seen the movie or the previous Broadway staging,  I will echo what most are saying here, this is a great play stuck in a rather dull production.  

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Wick3 said: "Those box seats in orch level are my favorite seats in that theater since they're actual freestanding chairs and you are right they're not selling them for this production. I'm guessing creatives may sit there during previewstaking notes and what not."

The house staff was nice enough to allow me to relocate to the house right orchestra box when I saw this. Having a box to yourself is the way to see any show, honestly. You don’t miss any of the action, but the view of the set is limited from there; the entire upstage of the office, for instance, is out of view. I only got to see some of the details (such as the bookcase) during the transitions. 

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Jordan Catalano said: "I love this play so much and one of the things I love so much about it is that the text is written so brilliantly that you're going to get a different show with every single person you put in it."

Perfectly put.