Belief and Disbelief in Effective ‘Shroud’

The age-old conflict between science and faith takes on contemporary urgency as a team of researchers tries to authenticate “The Shroud” at West Coast Ensemble. The object of their scrutiny is, of course, the Shroud of Turin, and Michael Kassin’s thoughtful new drama--loosely based on a 1978 study conducted under Vatican supervision--affectingly frames the controversies raised by the relic and its inexplicable imprint that some claim to be the image of Jesus.

The true believers do not include Red Broda (Paul Carr), a cynical nuclear weapons physicist. Broda’s zeal to discredit the Shroud is steeped in bitterness over changing priorities that recently forced him into retirement.

Acerbic, reckless and confrontational, Carr’s Broda meets a formidable opponent in his teammate Laura Oveida (Julie Nunis), a faith healer who rebuffs his skeptical assaults with calm, self-effacing certainty--and cures the physical affliction of Red’s friend (Edmund L. Shaff, alternating with Steven Robert Wollenberg).

Her success further infuriates Red, and in their ensuing duel the subject of their research becomes secondary. Shifting the focus from abstract principles to human motives, Kassin skillfully unveils the buried traumas that fuel these convincingly played antagonists. David Kaufman, David Grammer, Tiffany Cade and Angela DeCicco fill in multiple supporting roles.

Claudia Jaffee’s starkly effective staging avoids opportunities to wallow in sentiment, though it can’t evade some sermonizing when Kassin stacks the outcome in favor of one side--sometimes at the expense of historical realism.

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* “The Shroud,” West Coast Ensemble, 522 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Dec. 19. $20. (323) 525-0022. Running time:2 hours, 10 minutes.