I have to start out by saying that I loved this play. I have yet to see the movie and reading this has just made want to see it even more than I already did. The play was realistic and I really felt for many of characters, even the ones I didn't necessarily like. Now for some things I noticed about the play.
One thing I really liked was the use of monologues. The "sermons" given by Father Flynn were extremely powerful and a great asset to the play. They allowed the audience to gain incite into Flynn's character while also providing a glimpse at some of the themes of the play. I thought that the juxtaposition of these monologue with the scenes with the sisters provided an excellent way to move the plot along while still getting important character information.
Another interesting thing I noticed is that, like with "Spinning Into Butter", many of the characters who are essential to the plot are never seen. Without Donald Muller there would be no story here, or at least it would be a different story, yet he is never on stage. In both cases I don't think that the character needs to be on stage. In fact, particularly in this case, I think the play s probably better without Donald. If we saw the young boy, and really felt for him as a character, then any sympathy we might have for Father Flynn would be gone. Without some small caring for Father Flynn the play would be too one-sided and therefore boring.
