Shanley relies on Sister James for 'Doubt'

November 16, 2008 Growing up Catholic in the Bronx in the 1950s, the teachers at the local St. Anthony's school were members of the Sisters of Charity, an austere order who wore black bonnets and were steeped in a tradition of strict obedience. Almost half a century later, Sister James would become a central character in "Doubt," Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a likable priest who is accused of pedophilia by a vindictive nun. Two years later, when Miramax Films commissioned Shanley to adapt the play into a movie, he again leaned on her for help in making the screenplay feel authentic.

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