Doubt: A Parable, Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, USA

Kerstin Anderson (Sister James), Betsy Aidem (Sister Aloysius)
Doubt: A Parable

After COVID restrictions for the past 2-years, it was wonderful to be back in Westport, Connecticut sitting in the Westport Country Playhouse on Opening Night, Saturday, November 6, 2021, to see the play, Doubt: A Parable. No shrinking violet when it comes to putting on plays that push the envelope and make the audience think and perhaps reevaluate one’s rationale and beliefs, Westport Country Playhouse Director David Kennedy once again elicited the absolute best from his outstanding cast to deliver a flawless performance. The talented ensemble cast consisted of Betsy Aidem as the tyrannical Sister Aloysius the school principal, Eric Bryant as Father Brendan Flynn, Kerstin Anderson as the young and enthusiastic teacher Sister James, and Sharina Martin as Mrs. Muller, the mother of a troubled student.

Betsy Aidem (Sister Aloysius), Eric Bryant (Father Brendan Flynn)
Doubt: A Parable

The synopsis of the play, "It’s 1961. Sister Aloysius a school principal with a mandate to uphold tradition, is certain that something’s terribly wrong about the relationship between a young parish priest and a troubled boy. Beneath her moral crusade to reveal the horrible truth lies a chasm of doubt, where the choices we make can reverberate beyond the imagining. Who is telling the truth? Who do we believe?"

Kerstin Anderson (Sister James), Betsy Aidem (Siste Aloysius)
Doubt: A Parable

Thus is the premise for the play, Doubt: A Parable. As defined in the dictionary, "doubt" is "a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction," which plays heavily when our actions, or lack thereof, can have on others. In the play, Father Flynn gives a sermon in which he tells the fictional story of a woman who asks her priest if gossiping is a sin. He replies that she should go home, take a pillow, and cut it open with a knife, and then come back to him. She dutifully complies, and when she returns to the priest, he asks her if she cut the pillow open. She replied that she did. He replied that she should go home and pick up all the feathers and put them back into the pillow. She replied, that would be impossible, the wind took the feathers. The priest replied, that is what gossip is, once it is out, the damage can never be undone.

Betsy Aidem (Sister Aloysius), Eric Bryant (Father Brendan Flynn)
Doubt: A Parable

The cast gives a powerful performance where the thoughts and actions of one can influence the lives of many. It also sets the stage as to question how far one goes to accuse someone and act on suspicion alone, without veritable proof. What is the motivation that lies behind the doubt and the action? Does the end justify the means? This is a play that will have you talking about long after you leave the theater. Bravo!

Sharina Martin (Mrs. Muller), Betsy Aidem (Sister Aloysius)
Doubt: A Parable

Until next time, keep enjoying and supporting the arts!

Cast:

Betsy Aidem (Sister Aloysius)
Doubt: A Parable

The Creative Team:

Visitor Requirements at the Westport Country Playhouse for Indoor Events – Know Before You Go

The Westport Country Playhouse named as "Theatre Company of the Year" in December 2013 by The Wall Street Journal, opened on June 29, 1931, in a transformed 1835 cow barn, which has, and continues to attract, a "who’s who" of prominent actors.

Looking at the framed posters of past shows that line the lobby walls was like entering an encyclopedia of the arts. A few of the renowned actors who have appeared on the stage there include Ethyl Barrymore, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Don Ameche, Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy, Jane Fonda, Danny Aiello, Blythe Danner, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Lynn Redgrave, Gene Wilder, and Westport residents Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

"Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut. There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build."

For information on Doubt: A Parable or upcoming performances, or to purchase in-person or virtual tickets, please call the box office at +1-203-227-4177, email them at boxoffice@westportplayhouse.org or visit the website at www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

Upcoming Performances

Westport Country Playhouse
25 Powers Court
Westport, Connecticut 06880
United States
Box Office: +1-203-227-4177
Toll-Free: +1-888-927-7529
Fax: +1-203-454-3239
Box Office: +1-203-227-4177
Website: www.WestportPlayhouse.org
Instagram: @wcplayhouse
Twitter: @wcplayhouse

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