TheatreWorks Presents 'Doubt' Beginning July 16th

TheatreWorks, the nationally-acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, presents Silicon Valley with its first look at John Patrick Shanley's gripping Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play DOUBT, A Parable. Directed by Vickie Rozell and Robert Kelley, DOUBT features Cassidy Brown, Kimberly King, Kristin Stokes, and Tamikya White. Christened "#1 show of the year . . .  astonishing" by the Associated Press when it premiered on Broadway, this headline-hot story of suspicion and moral certainty calls into question exactly what is the right action when one is not sure. DOUBT plays July 16-August 10 (press opening: July 19) at TheatreWorks at the Lucie Stern Theatre. For tickets ($26-64) and information, the public may call (650) 903-6000 or visit theatreworks.org.

Sister Aloysius is an old-school nun who insists that her students not be pampered. Father Flynn believes that the clergy should be accessible to the parish and be thought of as a member of the family. When she suspects the popular and dedicated priest of misconduct, these two schools of thought come into direct conflict as Sister Aloysius takes matters into her own hands and accuses Father Flynn of "interfering" with a student. But the truth is clouded in complexity as doubt thwarts all assumptions in this riveting clash of conscience and conviction. Called "inspired" by The New York Times, DOUBT opened off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2004 and transferred to Broadway in 2005; when it closed in 2006 after playing 525 performances, DOUBT was the fifth longest-running play on Broadway in 10 years.

John Patrick Shanley's plays include Defiance; Danny and the Deep Blue Sea; Savage in Limbo; the dreamer examines his pillow; Beggars in the House of Plenty; Welcome to the Moon; Four Dogs and a Bone; Italian American Reconciliation; The Big Funk; Where's My Money; Dirty Story; Sailor's Song; and Romantic Poetry (a musical) which will open Manhattan Theatre Club's Fall season. His play DOUBT was awarded the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play. In addition to his works for the stage, Shanley adapted the films Alive and Congo; his original screenplays include Five Corners, The January Man, Joe Versus the Volcano, and Moonstruck, for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film adaptation of DOUBT, which he directed, will be released this fall starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.

TheatreWorks has assembled a talented ensemble for DOUBT. Kimberly King, who was featured in TheatreWorks' World Premiere musical A Little Princess and in the company's West Coast Premiere of A.R. Gurney's The Fourth Wall, returns to TheatreWorks as Sister Aloysius in DOUBT. King's credits include roles on Broadway (James Joyce's The Dead) and regionally at A.C.T, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory Theatre, among others.

Photo by Walter McBride/ Retna Ltd.