Doubt: A Parable

John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer/2005 Tony Award-winning drama poses troubling questions about Father Flynn (the forward-looking Catholic priest in the mid-’60s) and his involvement with an eighth-grade boy. Accusations come from the suspicious mind of Sister Aloysius, an aging, dour disciplinarian void of gladness. What makes Doubt so fascinating is the confidence the playwright has in himself and his audience to believe in and stick to the strength of ambiguity. When you arrive at the end, you have more questions than answers—more doubt than proof. B Street couples a daring, intriguing story with a top-notch cast. The pairing, and parrying, of B Street regular Kurt Johnson as Father Flynn and Catherine MacNeal as Sister Aloysius, along with support from Erinn Anova and Hesley Harps, results in memorable theater moments.
B Street Theatre, 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Thursday March 13. $22-$30. 2711 B Street, (916) 443-5300. www.bstreettheatre.org. Through March 16.