Critics Take In Shanley's Military-Themed Defiance at MTC

John Patrick Shanley earned unanimous acclaimed for Doubt last season. Now he is reunited with director Doug Hughes and Manhattan Theatre Club for another Stage I premiere, Defiance, a military drama that Shanley says is the second in a thematically linked trilogy of plays that started with Doubt. Did critics have any doubt about whether it was a success?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "Defiance, which shares Doubt's gifted director, Doug Hughes, is also tightly written and beautifully acted. While not quite as compelling as Doubt, Shanley's latest commands attention from start to finish… Shanley manages to explore several themes in just 90 minutes: racism, power, responsibility, morals and faith. There's also the timely matter of sagging military morale in wartime. Fortunately, the playwright skillfully integrates these issues into the dialogue without calling too much attention to them."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "This latest work, though as thoughtful and probing as its predecessor [Doubt], feels both overcrowded and oddly diffuse. If Doubt, which continues at the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway, has an elegant and energy-efficient sprinter's gait, Defiance progresses with a limp and a flustered air of distraction."

Frank Scheck of The New York Post: "Defiance lacks the elegant simplicity of Doubt, and occasionally comes across as being forced and overstuffed. But as an examination of the complexities of moral decisions, it achieves great resonance, thanks in no small part to the contributions of director Doug Hughes and an excellent cast."

Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "The situation Shanley has created in Defiance allows no wiggle room, no ambiguity, no hope. Lang is splendid at conveying a man gripped by tremendous tensions, Colin is funny and touching as his aggrieved and acerbic wife, and Chalk is deeply sympathetic as the captain. There are also solid performances by Chris Bauer as an oily chaplain and Jeremy Strong as an anguished soldier. But the play itself is emotionally unsatisfying because Shanley has not found a way to humanize an unyielding institution."

David Rooney of Variety: "Given a polished premiere production in Manhattan Theater Club's off-Broadway space, Defiance feels a draft or two away from achieving its potential, never fully clarifying its core questions. Doug Hughes' typically clear-sighted direction can't disguise that greater definition is needed in the writing. Significantly, in a drama that once again ponders hierarchy, leadership and power, there are four potentially strong characters battling to provide a center. But nobody wins."

Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "Both dramas [Doubt and Defiance] deal with sexual indiscretion, but Defiance, which opened Tuesday at off-Broadway's Manhattan Theatre Club, takes its time in getting to the heart of the matter. Although like Doubt only 90 minutes in length, it dawdles, creating characters who remain curiously one-dimensional and didactic while Shanley struggles with a cumbersome plot."

Linda Winer of Newsday: "This is a conundrum play in which characters speak their minds with blunt beauty while clutching at slippery morality. Shanley is not afraid to step close to the edge of melodrama, where deep truth competes with soap opera for our psyche… Stephen Lang gives a stunning performance… Chris Bauer is deliciously manipulative as the chaplain, who, in his own theatrical and judgmental way, might be a man of conscience… Shanley used to strike us as a prolific playwright without an authentic identity. He certainly has one now."