Doubt by John Patrick Shanley at Seattle Repertory Theatre

Seattle Repertory Theatre presents:
Doubt
By John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Warner Shook
September 21-October 21, 2006
(Opening Night: Wednesday, September 27)
Press Contact: Ilana Balint 206-443-2210 or ilanab@seattlerep.org

Seattle, WA – Seattle Repertory Theatre opens its 2006-2007 Season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning hit, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, playing in the Bagley Wright Theatre from September 21 through October 21, 2006. Previews begin September 21, with opening night set for September 27. Tickets are available through the Seattle Repertory Theatre box office seven days a week at (206) 443-2222, toll-free at (877) 900-9285, as well as online at www.seattlerep.org.

The Play: John Patrick Shanley’s 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning Doubt (it also won the Tony Award as best play that same year) is a riveting exploration of paranoia and suspicion in the Catholic Church. Set in a Bronx parochial school in 1964—just as the Vatican II reforms begin to transfigure the Church—evidence of a priest’s wrongdoing comes to light. Sister Aloysius, a strict school principal and traditionalist nun, faces the decision of a lifetime: Does she openly accuse a priest and give voice to her fear of his sinful actions, or does she bury her suspicions and leave room for doubt? This intense and personal power struggle between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn ultimately calls into question both faith and justice in the shadows of this cloistered institution. Doubt’s cast includes Kandis Chappell, as Sister Aloysius, who the Los Angeles Times called, “of the great unsung treasures of the American theater,” Cynthia Jones as Mrs. Muller, Corey Brill as Father Flynn and local actor, Melissa D. Brown as Sister James.

The Playwright: John Patrick Shanley’s plays include Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Savage in Limbo, the dreamer examines his pillow, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Welcome to the Moon, Where's My Money, and Dirty Story. His most recent plays include Doubt (winner of both the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play) and Sailor's Song. In the arena of film, Mr. Shanley has had four screenplays produced: Five Corners, Moonstruck, The January Man, and Joe Versus the Volcano. Five Corners won the Special Jury Prize for its screenplay at the Barcelona Theatre Festival. For Moonstruck, Shanley received both the Academy Award and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also did the film adaptations of both Alive and Congo. He directs in both theatre and film. Mr. Shanley’s play Psychopathia Sexualis premiered at Seattle Rep in 1996.

The Director: Warner Shook served for seven years as artistic director of Intiman Theatre where he directed Angels in America, The Little Foxes, Three Tall Women, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Private Lives, Love! Valour! Compassion!,The Royal Family and many others. He also directed the world premiere of The Kentucky Cycle at Intiman plus the subsequent productions at the Mark Taper Forum, Kennedy Center, and on Broadway where it won the Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for the Tony Award. In Southern California he directed South Coast Repertory’s productions of The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The Circle, You Can’t Take it With You, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Beyond Therapy; his acclaimed production of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at the Mark Taper Forum; and last year was privileged to direct Angela Lansbury and Dana Ivey in a benefit performance of Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage at the Coronet Theatre. Most recently he directed the world premiere of Gore Vidal’s On the March to the Sea with Chris Noth, Michael Learned, Charles Durning, and Richard Easton at Duke University. Other regional credits include the Long Wharf Theatre, The Old Globe, Hartford Stage, ACT Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, and American Conservatory Theatre. Next December, he will direct Ms. Lansbury once again in This is On Me (an evening of Dorothy Parker) at the Brentwood Theatre.

Performance Details: Performances of Doubt are at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sundays. There will be no performance on Thursday, September 28. There will be a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, October 18. Post-play discussions will be held after performances on Thursday, September 21, Sunday October 8 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 15 at 2:00 p.m. There is an audio-described performance on Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 p.m. and an American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance on Sunday, October 15 at 2:00 p.m. There will be a College Connection Night on Thursday, September 21 at 6:30 p.m.