Have you ever held a position in an argument past the point of comfort? Have you ever defended a way of life you were on the verge of exhausting? Have you ever given service to a creed you no longer utterly believed? These are questions that prompted playwright John Patrick Shanley to write his Pulitzer Prize-winning script DOUBT. Through humor and surprise, Shanley's provocative play - set in a Catholic school in the Bronx- is part drama; part mystery. It brilliantly explores the line between gossip and truth, discipline and compassion, certainty and…doubt.

It is 1964. New York and the whole country are living in uncertain times. President Kennedy was shot the year before. Desegregation is still a debated topic. And - shockingly - students at St. Nicholas Catholic School prefer ballpoint over fountain pens!

To gain control over these uncertain times, Sister Aloysius, the principal of St. Nicholas, runs her school with an iron will. Believing that eighth grade boys are made of "gravel, soot and tar paper," she advises Sister James, a young novice, to keep her naiveté in check and to remember that good teachers are never content. Aloysius will stop at nothing to remain the gatekeeper of her school where she believes teachers shouldn't befriend children, but be their fierce moral guardian instead. This is why, when she suspects the young, charismatic Father Flynn of improper relations with the school's first African-American student, there is no doubt in her mind of what she must do. Convinced that Father Flynn will be blindly protected by the church hierarchy, Sister Aloysius sets her own course to take him down. But are her allegations correct or is she merely on a mission to eliminate a colleague who challenges her work ethic? Who will you believe? Are you convinced of your belief beyond the shadow of a doubt?

"A breathtaking work of immense proportion" (Entertainment Weekly), DOUBT was the 5th longest running Broadway play in the preceding 10 years, by its closing in 2006. It went on to a highly successful national tour and has graced stages around the world. Even Hollywood can't keep away from its spell: DOUBT is currently being made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. But before it makes its way to the silver screen, Gainesville audiences will be treated to a captivating production of DOUBT at the Hippodrome. Once you experience it, you'll see why DOUBT has won these many prestigious awards: Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Obie Award for Playwriting, Tony Award for Best Play, Outer Critics' Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Touring Broadway Award for Best Play and the Hull-Warriner Award for Playwriting.

Celebrate the Hippodrome's 35th Season of professional theatre with this spellbinding play and its brilliant cast of 4.

"Inspired and extraordinary. Tight, absorbing" - The New York Times

"Casts a devastating spell." - Variety