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Guggenheim Fellow Gregory Orr to read poetry excerpts at King’s College

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‘A Blanket from Al’ project announced by Boscov’s

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Sister James pours some tea for Father Flynn and, yes please, he would like some sugar. In fact, he would like three spoonfuls.</p><p>Where is the sugar bowl? Oh, Sister Aloysius put it away in a drawer long ago, as a Lenten sacrifice, and never retrieved it.</p><p>Sister Aloysius&#8217; frosty disapproval of a priest who doesn&#8217;t embrace her austere practices is almost palpable as a King&#8217;s College cast rehearses a scene from the play &#8220;Doubt: A Parable.&#8221;</p><p>In the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, which opens tonight <ins>(March 30)</ins> in the college&#8217;s Maffei Theatre, Sister Aloysius&#8217; concerns about Father Flynn involve much more than how sweet he likes his tea. She&#8217;s worried his interest in an adolescent boy named Donald, the first and only African-American to enroll at the school she oversees in the Bronx in 1964, may be inappropriate.</p><p>Could his friendship with Donald be other than fatherly? Did he try to get him drunk on altar wine? Or did the boy decide to drink the wine himself, and did the priest try, despite that infraction, to offer him another chance to remain an altar server?</p><p>&#8220;Sister Aloysius has a very strict manner,&#8221; said King&#8217;s student Ashley Surdovel, of Topton, who plays that role. &#8220;She can be very cold, but she&#8217;s still very caring. She cares about the students.&#8221;</p><p>Hoping to help the young man, Sister Aloysius relays her fears to his mother, played by Desirae Evans, of Cape May, N.J. She&#8217;s surprised that the mom just wants her son to graduate and seems mostly grateful that Father Flynn spent time with him.</p><p>During a rehearsal break, Evans talked about what the boy might have experienced at a school where he was the only child of color. &#8220;People wouldn&#8217;t want to talk to him. He&#8217;d be alone most of the time,&#8221; she surmised. &#8220;Teachers would try to treat him equally, but they probably wouldn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p><p>What is the truth about Father Flynn&#8217;s relationship with the youth? The boy&#8217;s teacher, a younger nun named Sister James, seems conflicted. Sister Aloysius, the principal, feels certain. As for the audience, what will they think?</p><p>&#8220;When I saw the play on Broadway, I thought he was innocent,&#8221; director Dave Reynolds said. &#8220;When I saw the movie (with Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius) I thought he was guilty. They call the play &#8216;Doubt&#8217; for a reason. It&#8217;s delicious in its ambiguity.&#8221;</p><p>The play&#8217;s setting in 1964 was a time of flux, Reynolds said, describing it as &#8220;the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, the beginning of the Women&#8217;s Liberation Movement, and after Vatican II. Father Flynn reflects the changes. Sister Aloysius tries to cling to the old ways.&#8221;</p><p>Reynolds said the college administration &#8220;has been very supportive&#8221; of the decision to stage the play and is planning a question-and-answer discussion after at least one performance.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A.J. Bonk, of Wilkes-Barre, portrays Father Flynn and Ashley Surdovel, of Topton, plays Sister Aloysius in the play &#8216;Doubt: A Parable&#8217; tonight <ins>(March 30)</ins> through April 8 at King&#8217;s College in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_doubt.kingsplay.jpg</photo0><caption0>A.J. Bonk, of Wilkes-Barre, portrays Father Flynn and Ashley Surdovel, of Topton, plays Sister Aloysius in the play &#8216;Doubt: A Parable&#8217; tonight <ins>(March 30)</ins> through April 8 at King&#8217;s College in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> Doubt: A Parable</p><p><strong>Where: </strong> George P. Maffei II Theatre, Administration Building, 133 N. River St., King&#8217;s College, Wilkes-Barre</p><p><strong>When:</strong> Tonight through to April 8 with performances 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays</p><p><strong>Tickets:</strong> $12; $7 seniors, $5 students</p><p><strong>Info:</strong> 570-208-5825</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Deliciously ambiguous’ play, ‘Doubt: A Parable,’ comes to King’s College