SCR/Party Play with Ann Conway

Honorary Producers Tim and Jean Weiss with Director Martin Benson at First Night of "Doubt" at SCR.

Judy and John Thompson with actor Linda Gehringer

S.L. Huang, Bobbi Dauderman, actor Rebecca Mozo, Betty Huang, Jerry Dauderman

SHANLEY'S 'DOUBT' CERTAINLY
ENJOYED BY FIRST NIGHTERS
By Ann Conway

Question: When do First Nighters wildly applaud a production and shake their heads at the same time?
Answer: When they've just seen a stunning portrayal of John Patrick Shanley's jolting Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about the uncertainty of certainty, Doubt, which opened on Segerstrom Stage Oct. 26.

"I'm speechless," said a bewildered Tim Weiss, who, along with his wife, Jean, were Honorary Producers of the play about a rigid-thinking Catholic nun, Sister Aloysius (played by Linda Gehringer), who accuses a charismatic Catholic priest, Father Flynn (James Joseph O'Neil) of plying a grammar school student with sacramental wine in order to seduce him. The Weiss' generous underwriting of the production directed by Martin Benson marked their 9th consecutive year as honorary producers, SCR President Larry Higby noted during his pre-show remarks.

No doubt about it, this was a play that left First Nighters shaking their heads in wonderment. Did he do it? Did he have a 'history' of child molestation? And if he did, well, how could one be sure, since he adamantly claimed he didn't do it and the mother of the victim was shockingly ambivalent about the entire issue?

"I'm delighted about the reaction of the audience," Jean Weiss said, as she made her way to the post-performance bash on Ela's Terrace. "It was fascinating — so very well done! I was riveted."

Observed Benson: "This is a play about what we choose to believe when we rule out shades of gray in either direction. Where does that put us?"

Gehringer was still weeping as she took her bows at the closing of the play with fellow actors, who also included Kimberly Scott and Rebecca Mozo. "I cried for a long time," after the play was over, she confessed. "I was shook up tonight." She had attended Catholic school herself for 12 years, she confided. And so it was really "something to be crawling inside the body of someone who lives her life in black and white with no gray areas whatsoever. None! And then she goes against her greatest challenge and thinks she's going to win and kind of does, and yet, in her heart, she crumbles. Fascinating."

Actor O'Neil, who also attended Catholic school, was fascinated by the play's balanced construction and the genius of its author. "Playing this part is like being on a roller coaster," he said, emerging from a ring of well-wishers. "The writing is so good you literally just have to get on board and say the words. I've wanted to play this part since I read it three years ago, so, for me, tonight is a culmination of a three-year desire."

Enacting the role of a mother who debates the absolute convictions of an ever-controlling nun was a challenge she was ecstatic to meet, observed Kimberly Scott. How did she prepare? "Love," she said, simply. "I've found 9 times out of 10, working in the theater, if you come from a place of love, that's always the fulcrum, even if it's about something untoward. Love will always take you where you need to go."

Observed O'Neil about the singular, take-your-breath away scene between Gehringer and Scott: "I believe it was that scene that won Shanley the Pulitzer. You never expect the mother to say what she says."

Meanwhile, party guests cruised buffets laden with an array of mouthwatering fare catered by Imagine Beyond and buzzed about one of the most compelling plays ever to grace an SCR stage. SCR Artistic Director David Emmes seemed to sum up their thoughts: "This has been so thought provoking for each of us. We're all asking ourselves; 'How do I feel?' "

Ron Sheets, Rebekah Gladson, actor Kimberly Scott, Jeanie Sheets, Paul Cooley	David Emmes and Harriet Wieder
Barbara Van Holt, Victoria and Manny Fernandez	Rick Niemann and Bob Hall
Bobbi and Jerry Dauderman	Paula Tomei and Linda Gehringer
Pat Hancock, Gail Doe, Phyllis Jasmin	Stewart and Rene Woodard, Kae and Anne Ewing
Bob and Randy Morrison Baird, Nancy and Mike Meyer	Judy Rosner, Mary Roosevelt, Dori Caillouette
Actor Linda Gehringer, Elaine Weinberg	Bruce and Delia Lachenauer, Patti and Bob Deuster
S.L. Huang, Bobbie Dauderman, actor Rebecca Mozo and Betty Huang	Teri Kennady, Eric Hyman, Bob and Susan Ehrlich
Tim and Jean Weiss, Cassidy Weiss, Rhea and Matthew Weiss	Jerry Dauderman and actor Rebecca Mozo	Actor James Joseph O'Neil and Ralph Bauman
Gene and Pat Hancock, Gail and Ernie Doe	Imagine Beyond's post-production spread