DOUBT: A Parable

Looks like I will be going to see the recent Meryl Streep movie this week. The Steel Beam Theatre in downtown St. Charles Illinois is staging an outstanding 100-minute live performance of the original John Peter Shanley script, a live dramatic play. Titled as above, Doubt: A Parable is a probing look at doubt and certainty and at the difficult choices we make as we live out our lives. Certainly there are thousands of people who have seen Ms. Streep, the finest actress of our time. But once I knew I would be attending this version, I decided not to see the film. Now, having enjoyed the outstanding work of this quartet of actors, I feel compelled to see the film as directed by Shanley himself.

Director Terence Domschke lead Dennis Edwards as Father Flynn and Donna Steele as Sister Aloysius in a riveting clash of opponents. The questions arise from the certainty that the nun, the 1964 school principal, feels compels her to "bring down" the priest she mistrusts. Both priest and nun have issues of their own involved. We all wonder how to gain the certainty that will bring down evil and promote good, and how we can act that way without causing evil in the process. Is anyone wise enough to follow through? Is anyone perfect enough to withstand a malevolent scrutiny designed to destroy? Loads of things to ponder.

In a discussion period following the play, I commented that over 50 years ago I and all my classmates watched Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and learned his motto: Be sure you are right, then go ahead. In just a few short years, I realized that if we waited to "be sure," we might never get anything done. In a few more years, I learned the disturbing truth about Davy Crockett, who was no hero in many ways. Perhaps he has been better characterized as a drunk.

No pictures to add tonight, and no answers to the tough questions posed by the fine script and powerful actors. Just the questions.

Time Out for the Bard

After spending a wonderful afternoon on Navy Pier in Chicago, I thought we would take a timeout from our Alaska postings for a word about the Bard.

It was my good fortune to locate a young Chicago company called Shakespeare Repertory Theatre in 1991 and enjoyed watching the group grow and expand over the years. Eventually plans were announced for a theatre company on the Pier, a wonderful building was constructed, and the renamed Chicago Shakespeare Theatre came into being. Regular opportunities for all audiences including interested students to see world-class drama and comedy.

Of course, we all know that Macbeth is not only one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, it is the shortest and thus the one that careens down the track at breakneck speed. The 2009 mounting, directed by Artistic Director Barbara Gaines, features Ben Carlson and Karen Aldridge as the doomed Macbeth couple. They are as powerful and as well-presented as any couple I have ever seen in these roles. Set in modern times and featuring air power in the wars, video reports from the media, and airport waiting while flights are cancelled. But beneath the updating of details, the tragedy looks into a man who becomes lost in his ambition and his wife, how loses her mind when she loses his loving attention. For Chicagoans, this is a must-see.

The Scottish play has been featured here several times, including a 1992 mounting starring Kevin Gudahl and Susan Hart. That version was highlighted by music by Lloyd Broadnax King, pounding his chest, screeching and using various tools and items as instruments. More recently, a Short Shakespeare production covered the complete tragedy in 75 minutes and a Kabuki-style presentation featuring the character of Lady Macbeth. A highly-creative version was Marionette Macbeth, in which all actors were 3-4' tall marionettes controlled by a series of master puppeteers, featuring the Colla Family from Italy. As they manipulated the actors, the lines were provided by seven actors sitting in a chorus format.

The Wednesday matinee had an informative post-production session with several audience members asking some probing questions. Three of the actors including Karen Aldridge (Lady Macbeth) joined the discussion with Marilyn Halperin, Director of the Education Department. Season after season, production after production, the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre provides topnotch professional theatre for the people of Chicago. Thanks for the wonderful afternoon and we will return to Alaska tomorrow.