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There's no doubt about BoarsHead's 'Doubt'

REVIEW:
'Doubt'
A Michigan premiere at the BoarsHead Theatre, 425 S. Grand Ave., Lansing. Wed.-Sun., through Nov. 18. Tickets: $12-$25. For information: 517-484-7805 or http://www.boarshead.org

If the mark of an excellent drama is the quality of discussion it generates afterwards, then playwright John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt" can only be of the highest caliber. Because from the moment the show ended this past Friday night at Lansing's BoarsHead Theater, there was only one question that I heard asked over and over again as people walked towards the door: "So, did he do it?"
And that's the beauty of Shanley's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning drama: If it's done properly – and the BoarsHead's production certainly IS – then there's no easy answer to that simple-sounding question.
Set in a Catholic grade school in 1964, the principal, Sister Aloysius (played by Nancy-Elizabeth Kammer), is feared by everyone. An old-fashioned nun who believes in strict discipline, Sister Aloysius dislikes the personable and charming Father Flynn (Michael Joseph Mitchell) who warmly and eagerly embraces the sweeping changes brought to the church by Vatican II. But worse, she suspects Father Flynn of inappropriate behavior towards the school's only black student – Donald, an altar boy.
The clues are vague at best: boys-only meetings at the rectory to talk about "how to be a man," touches rebuffed by the intended recipient. But when Donald returns from the rectory with alcohol on his breath and keeps his head down on the desk, that's all the proof Sister needs. "We're going to have to stop him ourselves," she tells Donald's teacher, Sister James (Amy Fitts).
And thus the battle and the questions begin. Is her distaste for the priest blinding her towards his possible innocence? Or is there no doubt that Fr. Flynn is the monster she perceives him to be?
One aspect of the BoarsHead production that sets it apart from two others that will occur locally this season is its director, Jonathan Courtemanche, who is making his main-stage directing debut with "Doubt". And what a fine first effort it is! Courtemanche briskly moves his actors about the stage, taking full advantage of the story's ebbs and flows to build dramatic tension. What's more, he grabs the audience's attention and never loses his grip – so much so, that the play's 90 minutes fly by in seemingly record time. (The quibbles are minor and mentioned below – and a few are probably noticeable only to picky altar boys of that long-gone era.)
Performances are uniformly slick.
Fitts is delightful as the bubbly Sister James, whose love of teaching is crushed by her superior's suspicions and criticism.
Mitchell and Kammer are at their best when locking horns in fierce combat. But Kammer's Sister Aloysius is almost too cold and hardened to garner sympathy or support for her cause, while Mitchell occasionally shades his character – intentionally or not – with a touch of flamboyancy that COULD convince some that he's a pedophile simply because he COULD be gay.
And as Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller, Tiffany Denise Mitchenor certainly holds her own when challenging Sister about her crusade.
Sets and lights by Fred Engelgau and Jeremy Winchester are excellent – and well executed.

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