PRAISE FOR : DOUBT | Doug
Hughes | Cherry Jones |Brian
F. O'Byrne
Adriane Lennox |Heather Goldenhersh | Critics' quotes
SELECTED AS THE #1 SHOW OF THE YEAR BY
PRAISE FOR JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY’S“Inspired and extraordinary. Tight, absorbing and expertly acted. A superb new drama by John Patrick Shanley.” -Ben Brantley, THE NEW YORK TIMES “Cherry Jones and Brían O’Byrne are two of New York’s finest actors; to watch them duke it out in well-written roles that crackle with intelligence and rhythm is almost a sports event!” -John Lahr, THE NEW YORKER “#1 Show of the Year. John Patrick Shanley’s drama is simple in outline, complex in resonance. Will be a major Tony contender”. -Richard Zoglin, TIME MAGAZINE “Riveting, exceptional theatre!” -Liz Smith “The best new play of the season. That rarity of rarities, an issue-driven play that is unpreachy, thought-provoking, and so full of high drama that the audience with which I saw it gasped out loud a half-dozen times at its startling twists and turns.” -Terry Teachout, WALL STREET JOURNAL “Grade: A! A breathtaking work of immense proportion. Positively brilliant.” -Melissa Rose Bernardo, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “Impressive! DOUBT turns headline material into deeply moving drama.” -Howard Kissel, DAILY NEWS “Eloquent and provocative. A gripping mystery. Tightly written, elegantly directed and beautifully acted. It gives you faith.” -Adam Feldman, TIME OUT NEW YORK “A theatrical experience it would be sinful to miss. DOUBT may well be Shanley’s best play to date.” -John Simon, NEW YORK MAGAZINE “A great new American drama. Enthralling theatre. Should not be missed. The best play of the year, bar none.” -Michael Sommers, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER “A terrific, marvelous new play. Astonishing theatricality. A tough, timely story, rich in character, language and ideas.” -Mike Kuchwara, ASSOCIATED PRESS “Passionate, exquisite, important and engrossing. Could not be more timely. A potent, fast-moving drama.” -Linda Winer, NEWSDAY “Remarkable. DOUBT is a reminder that there’s life left yet in the well made play.” -Peter Marks, WASHINGTON POST “Provocative. A gripping story of suspicion. Something rare for this season: a laudable new American play.” -David Rooney, VARIETY “The must-see play of the season!” -Jacques LeSourd, GANNETT WESTCHESTER # # # # PRAISE FOR DOUG HUGHES, DIRECTOR OF “Doug Hughes slowly tightens the the dramatic thumbscrews until you’re ready to scream.” -Terry Teachout, WALL STREET JOURNAL “Doug Hughes pulls off provocative reversals without a single false-bottomed contrivance.” -Scott Brown, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “Elegantly directed by Doug Hughes.” -Adam Feldman, TIME OUT NEW YORK “Doug Hughes, one of our major directors, has helped four terrific actors shine even with tiny gestures and expressive silences.” -John Simon, NEW YORK MAGAZINE “Impeccably directed by Doug Hughes.” -Frank Scheck, NEW YORK POST “Doug Hughes directed the world premiere with exceptional skill and taste.” -Michael Sommers, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER “Taut, tight direction of Doug Hughes.” -Mike Kuchwara, ASSOCIATED PRESS “Directed with toughness and great sympathy by Doug Hughes, the four character play has a dream cast.” -Linda Winer, NEWSDAY “Impeccable direction from Doug Hughes.” -David Rooney, VARIETY |
PRAISE FOR CHERRY JONES as SISTER ALOYSIUS
“CHERRY JONES is extraordinary.”
-Ben Brantley, NEW YORK TIMES
“CHERRY JONES is brilliant.”
-John Lahr, THE NEW YORKER
“CHERRY JONES is magnificent.”
-Richard Zoglin, TIME
”CHERRY JONES is divine.”
-Melissa Rose Bernardo, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“CHERRY JONES makes this rich play so moving.”
-Howard Kissel, DAILY NEWS
“CHERRY JONES is incomparable.”
-John Simon, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“CHERRY JONES is riveting.”
-Frank Scheck, NEW YORK POST
“CHERRY JONES is brilliant.”
-Michael Sommers, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
“CHERRY JONES is wondrous.”
-Mike Kuchwara, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“CHERRY JONES is luminous.”
-Linda Winer, NEWSDAY
“CHERRY JONES reminds audiences why CHERRY JONES is CHERRY JONES.
AN AMERICAN ACTRESS FOR THE AGES.”
-Michael Phillips, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
PRAISE FOR BRÍAN F. O’BYRNE as FATHER FLYNN
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is extraordinary.”
-Ben Brantley, NEW YORK TIMES
“BRÍAN F. O’BRYNE is by turns commanding, vulnerable and sexy.”
-Melissa Rose Bernardo, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is charismatic.”
-John Lahr, THE NEW YORKER
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is beguiling and splendid.”
-Howard Kissel, DAILY NEWS
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is amazing.”
-John Simon, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is terrific and highly charismatic.”
-Frank Sheck, NEW YORK POST
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is brilliant.”
-Mike Kuchwara, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is superb.”
-Michael Sommers, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE delivers sterling work.”
-David Rooney, VARIETY
“BRÍAN O’BYRNE is sensational.”
-Dave Richardson, WOR Radio
PRAISE FOR HEATHER GOLDENHERSH as SISTER JAMES
“Heather Goldenhersh is excellent.”
-Ben Brantley, NEW YORK TIMES
“Heather Goldenhersh is remarkable.”
-John Lahr, THE NEW YORKER
“Heather Goldenhersh is poignant.”
-Howard Kissel, DAILY NEWS
“Heather Goldenhersh is adorable.”
-John Simon, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“Heather Goldenhersh is joyful.”
-Linda Winer, NEWSDAY
PRAISE FOR ADRIANE LENOX as MRS. MULLER
“Adriane Lenox is superb.”
-John Simon, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“Adriane Lenox is riveting.”
-Linda Winer, NEWSDAY
“Adriane Lenox is sublime.”
-Peter Marks, WASHINGTON POST
“Adriane Lenox is haunting.”
-Jacques LeSourd,
GANNETT WESTCHESTER
“Adriane Lenox provides sterling support.”
-Frank Scheck, NEW YORK POST
“Adriane Lenox has a jolting cameo.”
-Terry Teachout,
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Ben Brantley (11/24/04)
“Tight, absorbing and expertly acted”
“Written with an uncanny blend of compassion and detachment by Mr. Shanley”
“Acted by the splendid Cherry Jones”
“Directed with artful reserve by Doug Hughes”
“Brían F. O'Byrne’s deceptively easygoing, layered performance is the perfect counterweight to that of Ms. Jones.”
“Mrs. Muller is played with a lovely mix of deference and stubbornness by Adriane Lenox”
“While all the performances are excellent, Ms. Jones's and Mr. O'Byrne's are extraordinary, master classes in the use of body language and vocal inflection to convey internal conflict. Each has one especially stunning moment.”
“Even as DOUBT holds your conscious attention as an intelligently measured debate play, it sends off stealth charges that go deeper emotionally.”
Ben Brantley (12/3/04)
“A superb new drama by John Patrick Shanley.”
“Mr. O’Byrne, who won a Tony for portraying an admitted child killer in Frozen, here presents an equally compelling study of a man whose innocence or guilt will never be clear to anyone – possibly including himself.
“Mr. O’Byrne is matched to perfection by Cherry Jones as the nun of steel.
“The friction generated between them gives real fire to the smokey ambiguities of this sharp and subtle drama.”
Ben Brantley (12/26/04)
“One of the Year’s 10 Best”
“John Patrick Shanley’s sleeper of a hit about a nun, a priest and the evidence of things unseen is brought to searing life by the performances of Cherry Jones and Brían F. O’Byrne. An inspired study in moral uncertainty with the compellingly certain structure of an old-fashioned detective drama.”
John Lahr, The New Yorker (12/13/04)
“”Jones and O’Byrne are two of New York’s finest actors; to watch them duke it out in well-written roles that crackle with intelligence and rhythm is almost a sports thrill.”
“A superbly told yarn”
“Jones’ brilliant spikiness”
“Charismatic Brian F. O’Byrne”
“Goldenhersh manages a fetching and remarkable sweetness”
Richard Zoglin (12/22/04)
“#1 Show of the Year. John Patrick Shanley’s 90-minute drama is simple in outline, complex in resonance. The play thwarts all our comfortable assumptions. Cherry Jones is magnificent. Will certainly be a major Tony contender.”
Terry Teachout (11/26/04)
“The best new play of the season”
“That rarity of rarities, an issue-driven play that is unpreachy, thought-provoking, and so full of high drama that the audience with which I saw it gasped out loud a half-dozen times at its startling twists and turns.”
“High-stakes cat-and-mouse game”
“Suspenseful”
“Mr. Shanley has been splendidly well-served by his collaborators.”
“Mr. O'Byrne is equally persuasive, as are Ms. Goldenhersh and Adriane Lenox, who has a brief but jolting cameo as the unseen boy's mother.”
“Doug Hughes slowly tightens the dramatic thumbscrews until you're ready to scream. As for Mr. Shanley, he deserves the highest possible praise for grasping the subtle difference between a political play and a play with a political setting. DOUBT is the latter. It doesn't try to talk you into doing anything but thinking – hard – about the gnarly complexity of human behavior.”
Melissa Rose Bernardo (12/3/04)
“Rating: A”
“A breathtaking work of immense proportion”
“Positively brilliant”
“Cherry Jones is divine”
“Brían F. O’Byrne is by turns commanding, vulnerable and sexy”
Scott Brown
“#1 Show of the Year. Shanley’s superbly multi-chambered Doubt is a full immersion baptism, heart and head, blood and spirit, where the characters, not the author, do the heavy lifting. Without ever allowing a character to invest him or herself in a single uncontaminated principle, Shanley, his actors and director Doug Hughes pull off provocative reversals without a single false-bottomed contrivance. To say that Doubt speaks to our times is to diminish its ecumenical impact and import: it’s pure moral reasoning transmuted into suspect, with Jones’ Sister Aloysius an especially intriguing creation.”
Howard Kissel (11/24/04)
“Gripping”
“Jones makes this rich play so moving. She brings to the stage an intelligence both rigorous and just, the church at its wisest.”
“It gains huge strength from yet another beguiling portrait by Brían O'Byrne…a splendid actor”
“Goldenhersh has a poignant diffidence as Sister James.”
“Lenox conveys the depth of concern of the boy's mother.”
“John Lee Beatty's set captures the serenity of a self-enclosed world. Catherine Zuber has designed some smashing cassocks for O'Byrne, nuns' outfits of striking severity and a church lady's outfit of great charm for Lenox. Pat Collins' lighting intensifies the drama.”
“DOUBT turns headline material into deeply moving drama.”
Howard Kissel (12/28/04)
“#1 Show of the Year. Impressive. Takes the stuff of headlines and turns it into genuine drama. Seeing it through the eyes of a dedicated nun puts a topical issue into a deeper perspective, which is what the theater ought to do all the time.”
Adam Feldman (11/25/04)
“Eloquent and provocative”
“A gripping mystery”
“Tightly written, elegantly directed and beautifully acted.”
“In a fall season rife with disappointments, it also gives you faith.”
Adam Feldman (12/30/04)
“#1 Show of the Year. John Patrick Shanley’s ripping mystery, starring the superb Cherry Jones and Brían F. O’Byrne, doubles as an eloquent investigation of truth and consequences.”
David Cote (12/30/04)
“One of the Year’s 10 Best. Moral certainty never seemed so suspect as in John Patrick Shanley’s evocative and beautifully crafted thriller.”
John Simon (12/6/04)
“DOUBT may well be Shanley’s best play to date.”
“But what makes the play particularly absorbing is its enlightened objectivity.”
“Snappy dialogue
“Doug Hughes, one of our major directors, has helped four terrific actors shine even with tiny gestures and expressive silences.”
“Superb performances: the incomparable Cherry Jones’s Sister Aloysius, perfectly poised between pernicious percipience and touching deludedness; the amazing Brían F. O’Byrne’s Flynn, whose bluff outspokenness in sermon as well as conversation may be more artful than artless; the adorable Heather Goldenhersh, whose Sister James is as blithely bubbly as vulnerably fragile; and the expert Adriane Lenox, whose Mrs. Muller makes her relatively few lines resonate throughout.”
“Visualize this amid John Lee Beatty’s masterly scenery.”
“A theatrical experience it would be sinful to miss.”
Liz Smith (12/9/04)
“Riveting, exceptional theatre”
“Bittersweet, touching and funny”
“Sends the audience to its feet”
Frank Scheck (11/24/04)
“Engrossing, moving and even amusing, this play couldn't be more timely.”
“Impeccably directed by Doug Hughes, presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club and acted by a superb quartet of performers”
“Sister Aloysius is a fascinating creation, thanks both to the complexity of the writing and Jones' typically riveting performance. Displaying all of her character's imperious aspects while still conveying the underlying humanity and humor, the actress makes an indelible impression as the doggedly determined nun/sleuth.”
“Equally terrific is the highly charismatic Brían O'Byrne, who brings subtle shadings to Father Flynn that create exactly the kind of doubt in the audience's minds that the playwright intended. Heather Goldenhersh and Adriane Lenox provide sterling support.”
“Written with the sort of skillful theatrical canniness and intelligence that makes it seem almost an anomaly.”
Michael Sommers (11/23/04)
“A superb new drama”
“Enthralling theater.”
“Among the top shows of the year and should not be missed”
“A lean, keen play driven by strong conflict and crafted with subtlety, DOUBT is brilliantly acted by Cherry Jones and Brían F. O'Byrne performing at their finest under Doug Hughes' acutely gauged direction.”
"DOUBT is certain to mesmerize anybody who sees it.”
“direct and swift as an arrow”
“an appealing Heather Goldenhersh”
“forthright Adriane Lenox”
“taut, four-character drama”
“Shanley's writing is incisive, insightful and masterfully controlled.”
“Jones' fierce performance”
“Excellent design by John Lee Beatty (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes), Pat Collins (lights) and David Van Tieghem (sound and music)”
“Directing the world premiere with exceptional skill and taste, Hughes gives a major play a meaningful staging.”
Michael Sommers (12/26/04)
“It was thrilling to see the debut this year of at least one great American drama, and that singular play is Doubt. It’s the best thing Shanley has ever written, it’s a cinch for the Pulitzer and many other prizes, and Manhattan Theatre Club has given it a brilliant production.”
Michael Sommers (12/28/04)
“#1 Show of the Year. The best play of the year, bar none. Taut, yet thoughtful, this great – let’s repeat, great – new drama is superbly acted by Cherry Jones and Brían F. O’Byrne at their award winning finest. Manhattan Theatre Club deservedly has another Proof-sized hit on its hands.
Mike Kuchwara (11/24/04)
“John Patrick Shanley's terrific new play”
"DOUBT wakes up this slumbering theater season, jolting the audience with a tough, timely story, rich in character, language and ideas.”
“Astonishing theatricality. He's helped by a remarkable, four-person cast and the taut, tight direction of Doug Hughes”
"DOUBT provides the wondrous Cherry Jones with her best role since her Tony-winning performance in "The Heiress"
“The dialogue, despite the seriousness of the subject matter, is often quite funny, particularly in its depiction of parochial school education.”
"DOUBT is Shanley's best play in years”
“Marvelous”
Mike Kuchwara (12/13/04)
“#1 Show of the Year. Just in time, John Patrick Shanley’s bracing drama came to the rescue of a disappointing fall season. The play stars the extraordinary Cherry Jones.”
Linda Winer (11/24/04)
"DOUBT, the important and engrossing John Patrick Shanley drama”
“How splendid it feels to be trusted with such passionate, exquisite ambiguity unlike anything we have seen of the prolific playwright's unpredictable output and its culmination so far.”
“Directed with toughness and great sympathy by Doug Hughes, the four-character play has a dream cast.”
“Blunt yet subtle, manipulative but full of empathy for all sides, the play is set in 1964 but could not be more timely.”
“In just 90 fast-moving minutes, Shanley creates four blazingly individual people”
“The luminous Jones”
“Joyful Heather Goldenhersh”
“Her meeting with the black boy's mother (the marvelously understated Adriane Lenox) is riveting.”
“O’Byrne is as inscrutable as he is seductive and likable as the much-loved, possibly dangerous priest.”
“A lean, potent drama”
“About its power, however, we have no doubt.”
Linda Winer (12/26/04)
“#1 Show of the Year. Passionate, splendidly written. Could not be more timely. Doug Hughes has directed a dream cast – including Cherry Jones and Brían F. O’Byrne – with all the toughness and ambiguity the subject deserves.”
Peter Marks (12/16/04)
“DOUBT is the wonderfully apt title of John Patrick Shanley's remarkable new play”
“A moving, riveting performance by Cherry Jones, her most rewarding part since her Tony-winning star turn in "The Heiress" nearly a decade ago
“DOUBT is a reminder that there's life yet in the well-made play
“Deftly directed by Doug Hughes”
“The sublime Adriane Lenox”
“No weak link is discernible in Hughes's expert handling”
“Nothing but encomiums should be offered to the quartet of actors who make this story breathe so intensely. And an extra-big bouquet to Jones, who bathes Sister Aloysius in righteousness without ever making her seem self-righteous.”
David Rooney (11/24/04)
“All the elements come invigoratingly together like clockwork in John Patrick Shanley 's provocative new play, DOUBT, a gripping story of suspicion cast on a priest's behavior that is less about scandal than about fascinatingly nuanced questions of moral certainty.”
“A remarkable mid-career high for a playwright here looking at broader themes with subtlety, maturity and complexity, the perspicacious writing superbly balances gravitas with considerable humor, backed in Manhattan Theater Club's world-premiere production by a peerless cast, crisp design and impeccable direction from Doug Hughes.”
“Shanley's brilliantly orchestrated interplay and finely honed dialogue”
“What makes the play so fascinating is that Shanley has little concrete interest in whether or not the priest is guilty.”
“O'Byrne's reteaming with director Hughes delivers sterling work”
“Goldenhersh is no less accomplished in the third key role of mousy James”
“Adriane Lenox incisively nails a complex character in one knockout scene”
“With this fine production, MTC has hatched something rare for this season: a laudable new American play”
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune (12/5/04)
“A beautifully balanced drama”
“A writer working at the top of his craft, making the most of a muted but evocative palette in the pursuit of truth's shadows.” ”Here, for the first time in a long time, is a play that is about something”
“The Manhattan Theatre Club production, directed by Doug Hughes, is as fine as they come, its rhythms and performances spectacularly confident.”
“Cherry Jones reminds audiences why Cherry Jones is Cherry Jones, which is to say an American actress for the ages.”
“With DOUBT, Shanley has written his most satisfying piece in any medium since his screenplay "Moonstruck."
Robert Hurwitt, (1/18/05)
“Compelling. It pits a conservative nun (a tour de force performance by the invaluable Cherry Jones), the principal of a Catholic school, against a popular, liberal and, in her eyes, suspect priest (the engaging Brían O'Byrne).
“A richly nuanced Adriane Lenox”
The prolific Shanley ("Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," "Savage in Limbo," an Oscar- winner for "Moonstruck") folds doubts back upon each other in what may be his strongest script yet. And Doug Hughes' carefully crafted staging richly reflects the solid construction of the text.
Jacques LeSourd (11/25/04)
“A supremely intelligent new play”
“Must-see play of the season”
“Cast to absolute perfection”
“Great drama”
“Jones is simply incandescent”
“Holdenhersh is sweetly child-like”
“Adriane Lenox is haunting”
Dave Richardson
“One of the year’s 10 Best. A terrific and very timely drama. Cherry Jones and Brian F. O’Byrne are sensational.”
Victor Gluck
“One of the Year’s 10 Best. Shanley’s best play and also the best new drama of the 2004-05 season so far. A stirring, provocative drama.”