“Defiance”
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Showing: Next Theatre (at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center), 927 Noyes Street in Evanston, through Dec. 23.
Tickets: $23-38
Contact: (847) 475-1875; www.nexttheatre.org

By Web Behrens

Contributing writer

It’s not fair, really, to judge John Patrick Shanley’s new play, “Defiance,” by the yard stick of his 2005 Pulitzer and Tony winner, “Doubt.” Yet comparisons are probably unavoidable—and not entirely out of place, considering Shanley himself considers the dramas to be the first two of a thematic trilogy, though the settings and the characters are entirely different.

So let’s get this out of the way from the start: “Defiance” is no “Doubt.” The earlier play, a taut work that wrestled with uncertainties about sexual abuse at a Catholic grade school in the early 1960s, has given way to a less unified drama, initially about racial tensions roiling a North Carolina military community. But the focus shifts as allegations of sexual misconduct materialize (this time, among consenting adults).

Shanley clearly has a passion to shine light on those who wield power, whether wisely or selfishly. But the scenario here is simply not as compelling as in “Doubt.” (Warning: Spoilers ahead.) For one thing, as we move towards the climax, there’s no mystery about the allegations; Lt. Col. Littlefield immediately admits that he had an unplanned dalliance with an enlisted man’s wife. The protestations of a questionable Lutheran chaplain aside, Littlefield’s “crime” doesn’t seem to rise to an abuse of office—the tryst happened by chance, away from the military base, and he never used his authority to blackmail the woman into having sex. Gay and lesbian audiences, in particular, will have a hard time condemning the man for “conduct unbecoming” (the very same language the military uses to condemn GLBT troops). The question becomes whether to judge other people’s personal actions, along with when to act and when to keep quiet. (Simmering gently underneath it all is a debate about another kind of defiance—the colonel’s son dodges the draft—but that thread never comes fully to the fore.)

What we’re left with is a somewhat-meaty personal drama, very well acted by a fine cast. Steve Pickering and Osiris Khepera fully own the plays’ dramatic heights as officers at odds over Littlefield’s actions. Even more compelling are two quieter performances: Laura T. Fisher stars as Margaret Littlefield, who’s always been her husband’s greatest, if most undervalued, asset; meanwhile, Joseph Wycoff slyly underplays the unctuous chaplain, whose manipulations lead to Littlefield’s exposure. Wycoff’s shiftiness helps bring attention to his character’s self-righteous motives, lending another layer to the play’s central debate. If only there were more complex issues at work overall.