'Doubt'

John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘‘Doubt’’ is a devastating examination of a woman of conscience trying to determine the truth in the midst of the uneasy patriarchy of a Bronx Catholic School in 1964. As Shanley writes in the play’s preface, ‘‘I have never forgotten the lessons of that era, nor learned them well enough. I still long for shared certainty, an assumption of safety, the reassurance of believing that others know better than me what’s for the best. But I have been led by the bitter necessities of an interesting life to value that age-old practice of the wise: doubt.’’ It won the 2005 Tony Award for best play, and the superb Cherry Jones, who anchors the current tour, won a Tony and a slew of other awards as best actress in the role of Sister Aloysius. This one’s a must-see — no doubt about it.

KAREN CAMPBELL