There are any number of reasons to see the touring production of Doubt, the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play that opens tonight at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. There's John Patrick Shanley's finely calibrated script, which takes a sensational storyline — a nun at a Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964 suspects a priest of molesting a male student — and uses it to create an engrossing exploration of certainty and doubt. There's the nuanced direction of Doug Hughes, which balances the stakes so well that at least three quarters of the audience will leave the theater arguing about which of the characters was truly at fault. But the chief reason is the presence of Cherry Jones in the role she created on Broadway, Sister Aloysius. It's rare enough for a Broadway tour to feature the show's original star, but what makes this even more of an occasion is that Jones' performance is one for the history books: Fierce, even monstrous at times, her Aloysius remains convincingly, fully real, from her bonnet to her sensible shoes. Jones is widely regarded as one of the best actresses on the American stage; check out Doubt and find out why. April 24-29, 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 and 8 p.m. Sat., and 7:30 p.m. Sun., Carol Morsani Hall-TBPAC, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, 813-229-7827, tbpac.com.
This article appears in Apr 18-24, 2007.
