Current Season
Doubt: A Parable
By John Patrick Shanley
September 26-October 18
Response from director, Carol Horne Dennis:
For those who saw Doubt, and wonder what might be the truth, I offer this possibility. Father Flynn has a secret, has committed "mortal sin" but, as he exclaims, he has "never touched a child!" I believe Father Flynn is a gay man who left his last Parish because of an attraction to another Priest. When he calls Donald Muller into the Rectory to talk about the wine, Donald confesses to him that his father beats him because he is gay and that he was harassed in the public school. Father Flynn tells Donald that his secret is safe with him and that he will protect him from the other boys. When Sister Aloysius confronts Father Flynn, he tells only part of the story, making the decision to keep his promise to Donald.
This is the story I used to direct the play. I believe it is the story that makes Father Flynn more interesting, and the play more intriguing. I still feel Sister Aloysius is a hero for putting the child's welfare before her own. I also see Father Flynn as an ethical man for keeping his promise to a child, Sister James as compassionate for comforting Sister Aloysius when she is lost, and Mrs. Muller courageous for standing up for her son at a time when a Black woman had little social power.
I have no way of knowing what the playwright intended, but this is the way I read the play. Thanks for coming to see Doubt: A Parable and for being interested in continuing the conversation.
West Moon Street
A Wilde new comedy By Rob Urbinati
Based on Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde
November 14-December 6
Young Lord Arthur is deliriously happy - just down from Oxford and engaged to be married - when a mysterious palm reader predicts that he will commit a murder. A proper English gentleman, Arthur believes it is his Duty to get this killing business over with before he marries. But his education has not provided him with the required skills, and a hilarious series of mishaps ensues as he set about finding a victim.
"Urbinati has done a truly marvelous thing: He's turned an infrequently read Oscar Wilde short story into a play that improves on the original." - The New York Blade
"A complete delight." - New York Times
The Clean House
By Sarah Ruhl
January 9-31
Lane, a successful doctor, is having a difficult time: her depressed maid, Mathilde, doesn't want to clean the house; she just wants to tell jokes - in Portuguese. Conveniently, Lane's sister Virginia loves to clean and secretly helps Mathilde. But when Lane's husband Charles leaves her for another woman, Lane's life becomes a mess that both Mathilde and Virginia have trouble cleaning up. This theatrical and wildly funny play is a whimsical and poignant look at class, comedy and the true nature of love.
"One of the finest and funniest new plays you're likely to see..." -New York Times
Rabbit Hole
By David Lindsay-Abaire
February 27-March 21
Becca and Howie Corbett have everything a family could want, until a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart. This poignant work, both emotionally charged and unexpectedly funny, explores the possibility of finding of hope even in the darkest hour.
"A transcendent and deeply affecting new play, which shifts from hilarity to grief." -Entertainment Weekly
Suicide Weather
By Jeff Whitty
May 8-31
What do you do when your frustrated Mom lives in a dream world, fancying herself a Noel Coward character when she more often resembles Medea? Or when your Dad prefers to read books about serial killers than talk to his family? Suicide Weather is a comedy about unfulfilled dreams and overwhelming expectations, and the titillating hope that a healing moment could be right around the corner.
Jeff Whitty is a native Oregonian and a UO alum. He won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a musical for Avenue Q.