Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
#1Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:27pmEvery single person I know who saw the original production, claims it was one of the most memorable evenings of theatre. I am just curious to hear from the people on this board. What was the experience like for you?
#2re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:29pmBored almost to tears.
#2re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:31pmI saw the original cast and the show blew me away. Easily one of the best plays I have ever seen.
#3re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:41pm
It was exhilarating, more from the brilliant performance by Cherry Jones, Brian F. O'Byrne and Adriane Lenox than the play itself.
I still maintain, without the use of hyperbole, that Cherry Jones gave one of the best performances I have ever seen in any medium. Her performance still gives me goosebumps when I think about it.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#4re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:48pmI saw the tour with Cherry Jones and it was riveting. It's a real shame she didn't get the film.
#5re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:48pm
The entire play is just such a thrill, no matter how many times you've seen it. It's a great feeling, to be part of an audience that's leaning on every single word that's been written.
And now one question: Was anyone else bothered by Brien F. O'Byrne's almost-cartoonishly over-the-top Bronx accent (the opening of the play: silence... "WHAT DO YAO DOOO... WHEN YOOR NAAHT SUUUWRAH?!?!!")
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#6re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:53pmIt should be mentioned that D2 saw the indifferently received Pasadena Playhouse production of Doubt, and not the original Broadway production, which is what the original poster was asking for comment about.
#7re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:54pm
StickToPriest, those are my thoughts exactly.
I think I had an idiot grin on my face the whole time Cherry Jones was onstage. Not because she was funny (though she sometimes was) but just because I was so thrilled and delighted at what I was seeing.
#8re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 4:10pm
It should be mentioned that D2 saw the production on Broadway. It should also be mentioned that he did not, however, see Cherry Jones - he saw Eileen Atkins, and apparently that made all the difference.
It should also be noted that Mister2 saw the movie last week and loved it.
Which brings Mister2 to the conclusion that the material relies almost too heavily on the performances to make it work.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#9re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 4:11pm
It was a very good production with crisp, rich, bold dialogue that really cut right to the chase and cut deep. I wouldn't say I was blown away by it (I actually thought RABBIT HOLE was a better play and deserved the Tony) but it was still a very memorable night at the theater.
And, of course, the performances couldn't have been better. Lenox and Jones were just brilliant and that final confrontation between Jones and O'Byrne is forever etched in my mind.
It was very powerful but not perfect...but it did exhilarate me and leave me thinking for days...not just thinking about the production but about my life and the world around me, something very rare for a play to achieve.
Updated On: 1/16/09 at 04:11 PM
#10re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 4:12pm
D2, I have friends who saw it in LA with Linda Hunt and had the same reaction you did.
So you may well be right.
#11re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 4:20pm
"I actually thought RABBIT HOLE was a better play and deserved the Tony"
RABBIT HOLE was the year after DOUBT. THE HISTORY BOYS won the year that RABBIT HOLE was nominated.
But THE PILLOWMAN was nominated the same year as DOUBT. I think I would have voted for THE PILLOWMAN. As I said before, the power of DOUBT came more from the electrifying performances.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#12re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 4:33pmSaw Cherry Jones when the show toured and honestly cannot imagine the show without her in it. When I walked out of the theatre I was speechless as to how amazing her performance was.
LadyRosecoe
Broadway Star Joined: 8/4/07
#13re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 7:21pm
Cherry Jones most certainly gave Doubt that extra edge. The first mention of her name in this thread gave me goosebumps just seeing it. Remembering her performance easily allows me to recall why Doubt won Best Play. It is a very tight show itself and I could see why the committee would have voted for it considering that the text is what was nominated in that category and not the cast- the play itself was great too. But personally speaking, The Pillowman was a better play even with its imperfections.
LadyRosecoe
Broadway Star Joined: 8/4/07
#13re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 7:24pmUpdated On: 1/16/09 at 07:24 PM
#14re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 7:30pm
Someone was bored with Eileen Atkins onstage in front of them? Brain cannot comprehend this... O_o
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#15re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 8:05pm
You're right sorry...I knew RABBIT HOLE was my favorite over the show that won that year. It was far better than THB.
Sorry about that.
#16re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 8:19pm
I saw it in L.A., but I saw 3/4 of the Broadway cast.
The play was great, but actually got BETTER afterward. Those unanswered questions that linger and fester and create the impact of what you just saw.
Cherry Jones was, is, and will always be a MARVEL in my eyes. I love to watch her work. I remember thinking she had submerged herself into this strange, compelling character that reached right across the rows of seats and grabbed me. And shook me. It didn't hurt that I was sitting 7th row, center either. I saw everything. I was someone in a tree.
I first saw Cherry in NY in "The Heiress." She's a very rare actress that manages to be completely accessible playing characters that aren't accessible at all. Not an easy task. Not remotely. Cherry can command an audience, with the simple tone of her voice. The way she gestures or emphasizes ... or doesn't. She "plays" the audience, the way a musician plays an instrument. It really is a wonder to watch. And I've only experienced a few performers in my day who have been able to do that.
Geraldine Page
Yul Brynner
Harvey (yes THAT Harvey) Fierstein
A few others, but VERY few.
They are bigger than the material. They are "Broadway STARS."
Back to "Doubt" ... I actually thought the balance of the play was better than the film. It left much to the imagination as to what happened, and I didn't mind that in the least. I have an imagination, and I used it.
The film was a little too presentational and demonstrative for my liking, but I still thought it worked well enough and was quite effective.
I wasn't "on the edge of my seat" while I watched this play, but I was involved, concerned, and ultimately smacked in the face by my own "doubts" about humanity, goodness, faith, and, above all, "righteousness."
It made me think hard for many days after.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#17re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/16/09 at 8:35pm
I was lucky enough to sit in the front row, seeing the original Broadway cast. It will always be remembered as one of the greatest theatrical experiences of my life! Not to repeat what everyone else has said, but Cherry Jones (and the entire cast) were absolutely incredible, in the true sense of the word. I couldn't get the performances out of my head for a long, long time - still gives me chills just thinking about Jones' face during that last scene.
#18re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/17/09 at 12:24ambest12bars you have no idea the amount of jealousy i have toward you because you saw her in the heiress. I think of her as this lump of clay that morphs to each role. She may just be the best stage actress currently alive. BTW what did you think of that production? I am big fans of Philip Bosco and Michael Cumspy.
#19re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/17/09 at 12:40am
Cherry was already known in theatre circles in NY, but she really arrived as a full-blown, bona fide Broadway star with "The Heiress." She was the talk of the town that year. No exaggeration on my part.
When I saw the play (a fantastic, seldom-produced play, by the way), I was enthralled with Miss Jones. As I mentioned in my earlier post, she held the audience in the palm of her hand as Catherine Sloper. It was riveting to watch her evolve as the plot unraveled.
I left saying to my friend, "This is what it must have been like to see Helen Hayes in her prime."
And as much as I still love Olivia de Havilland's Oscar-winning performance in the 1949 film version, I think Jones was better. That's saying an awful lot, too.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
SporkGoddess
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
#20re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/17/09 at 12:51amHow was Heather Goldenhersh in it?
LadyRosecoe
Broadway Star Joined: 8/4/07
#21re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/17/09 at 12:56amI'll say that Amy Adams gave perhaps the only performance in the film that surpassed the onstage predecessor. I felt more strongly about Sister James there and think that she gave a better definition to the role. I also enjoyed the added film scenes in the classroom with her interacting with the children, that may have been it, but Goldenhersh definitely left a smaller impression with me on Broadway.
Brick
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/21/06
#22re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/17/09 at 1:09am
Sharp, riveting, a suckerpunch of a play that lingered with you long after.
The movie drained all of that out, taking its sweet time to linger over every pointless detail of Shanley fussy direction.
Cut 30 minutes out of the film and you've have the play, which was stunning.
Marinacat
Chorus Member Joined: 1/31/08
#23re: Just how powerful was the Broadway production of DOUBT?
Posted: 1/17/09 at 6:48am
I too, was bored to tears. Ron Eldard was just okay, and Jenna Malone was awful.
Thank God for Eileen Atkins.
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