The latest Southeastern Theater production riveted audiences with the John Patrick Shanley parable of a nun experiencing a crisis of faith when she suspects a priest of child molestation.
Director Chad Winters' vision for the play was to stay true to the author's original intent of examining "moral certainty."
"I wanted to do what I think the playwright wanted, which was to examine how we can sometimes be blinded by moral certainty," said Winters. "Sometimes we're so certain of something that we're blinded to the truth that's in front of us. I was thinking of the Salem Witch Trials, where these people were certain those women were witches without necessarily having any facts. So this examines that in a more contemporary way."
Set in 1960s New York, "Doubt" involves the principal of a Catholic school, Sister Aloysius, suspecting that the charismatic Father Flynn has been molesting the school's first and only black pupil, Donald Muller, but she has no concrete proof. She advises the naïve Sister James to be "alert" around Flynn, but the younger nun has a harder time dealing with the possibility such evil could exist within a man of the cloth. Then, there's Donald's mother, Mrs. Muller, who is willing to turn a blind eye to any wrongdoing as long as her socially isolated son has a friend to turn to.
The actors did their best to stay true to the text as well, using research and personal exploration to get into their characters. Kayla Turner, who played Mrs. Muller, went to those who had lived through the 1960s for inspiration.
"I prepared by watching and talking to my grandmother and her friends," said Turner. "They lived in this time period. They knew what it was like during desegregation."
Dani DeMontluzin had to tap into other parts of her personality to play the straight-laced Sister Aloysius.
"I began to embrace my conservative side with this role as well as truly play the idea of intolerance," said DeMontluzin. "My biggest thing to prepare for was being persistent with my character; she never gives up."
DeMontluzin also commented on having to be onstage enemies with Matthew Carona, who played Father Flynn.
"To have been cast alongside Matthew, my best friend, is more than I could've ever wanted," said DeMontluzin. "It's very interesting to have such an intense character enemy with your best friend in real life. Definitely a challenge, but I've undoubtedly enjoyed every second of it."
Audience reactions were mostly positive.
"At first, I didn't know what it was going to be about, but the play got better and better," said Emily Courtney, an English major. "At the very end, I was like, 'I want more.'"
Some found it so well done that they could hardly be critical.
"I thought it was pretty well executed by the actors, overall," said Jaime Acosta, a general studies major. "They conveyed enough emotion to get the play across. They pulled enough out of the play to really get the plot and pull the audience into it. There aren't many places I could fault it. I'd go see it again if I could."
Not everyone was so enthralled. One audience member found the production solidly produced, but underwhelming.
"The subject matter [and] the idea behind the play is interesting," said Bradley Heath of Hammond. "The acting was decent. I guess it really didn't stand out in terms of plays for me, though. It was enjoyable, but not amazing."
In the end, the cast and crew felt satisfied with the reception of "Doubt."
"Southeastern audiences are usually somewhat rowdy, but this play is so heavy and I didn't know what to expect," said DeMontluzin. "I was genuinely surprised and pleased with how invested the audience was. I could feel that they were very into it."