Chagrin Valley Little Theatre

Press Releases

CVLT to stage award-winning drama "Doubt" - 12/18/08

CHAGRIN FALLS, OH - In late 2004, John Patrick Shanley's drama Doubt: A Parable premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club, swiftly moving on to Broadway in 2005. Shanley's gripping study in morality and uncertainty tuned into the public's shock at the Catholic Church's priest abuse scandals and became an instant hit. Doubt won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; best new play awards from the New York Drama Critics' Circle, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Drama League, the Outer Critics Circle. It also garnered the Drama Desk award, the Obie, and four Tony Awards (best play, best actress in a play, best featured actress in a play, and best director). In late 2008, the play made the jump to film, receiving dozens of awards and nominations for its stars, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis.

Doubt: A Parable is set in 1964, and takes place at a working class Catholic school in the Bronx. Sister Aloysius, the stern, hard-line principal, has come to suspect the young Father Flynn of having improper relations with the school's first black student. Disturbing news from an enthusiastic young nun, Sister James, and a meeting with the student's mother, Mrs. Muller, bring conflict to the school and to the conscience of Sister Aloysious. Doubt is a mystery that raises important questions about the consequences of action and inaction; questions that it does not aim to answer, but rather leaves to the audience. As the playwright himself notes, “doubt itself is a passionate exercise.”

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, now mid-way into its 79th season, is set to launch its own production of Shanley's work on January 16 under the direction of CVLT veteran Don Edelman. This will be the first staging of the script by a non-professional theater in Northeast Ohio, and will feature post-show discussions with the director and cast. This production stars Harriet DeVeto, a former professional actress recently lauded for her turn as 'Maria Callas' in CVLT's Master Class, as the disapproving Sister Aloysius. Eric Oswald, who marks Doubt as his 40th stage production (and his 7th at CVLT), appears as the brusque Father Flynn. Kent State theater major Cheryl Winslow appears as the innocent Sister James, with Sharron M. Foxx, frequently seen at Near West Theater, Dobama, and Karamu, taking on the role of the strong mother, Mrs. Muller.

Doubt: A Parable runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 PM from January 16 through February 7. Post-show discussions will begin on Saturday, January 17th. Tickets are $14 regular or $10 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online 24 hours a day at www.CVLT.org, or by calling the Box Office at 440-247-8955 between 1 and 6 PM, Monday through Saturday.

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and is supported by the Ohio Arts Council.

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