Ah, The Crucible…
Puritanism. McCarthyism. “Don’t Trust a Girl Named Abigail”ism.
As a tale set during the 17th Century in Massachusetts Bay Colony, it’s fair to assume that The Crucible would elicit a collective yawn from Mountain Lakes’ student body. For most people, you may associate this story with English class, or maybe History class, and therefore you’ll want to close this article and never look back. BUT, what you might not know is that this play explores the Salem witch trials, and the mass hysteria that took over a small, Puritan town. While these thoughts may not have interested you at first, The Crucible tells the shocking dangers of “mob mentality.”
The play illustrates the dark underbelly of a small Puritan town through the horrible condemnation of Elizabeth Proctor (Greta Donnelly), a woman accused of witchcraft. Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor (Noah Golfischer), attempts to reason with Judge Danforth (James Purcell), insisting that witchcraft isn’t based in fact, but fiction. As the town slowly descends into madness, the introspective few attempt to suppress the hysteria that overtakes the town.
To better understand the high school production, we sat down with a few cast and crew members.
Greta Donnelly: Elizabeth Proctor
What do you like/dislike about your character?
“It’s really fun because I get to explore a really gentle side and a kind of sensitivity. It’s very different from the characters I’m usually cast as, and I’m really excited about that.”
What are you most excited for this year?
“I am always excited to see the set come together. Last year, we took the stage and we rotated it, and did a lot of moving props. I think it’s going to be really cool because we will be able to stack the props this year, and do all this funky stuff.”
Do you think there will be any challenges this year?
“Yeah. It’s a really hard show to do this year because we have no freshmen. We have a lot of sophomores in major roles, which is great, but it’s also a really new thing. Even for those of us who have done this for a while, it’s difficult. The language is difficult: it’s so precisely and specifically written. Understanding it is a bit of a challenge, especially for younger people, but we’re getting it.”
James Purcell: Judge Danforth
What is your opinion about your character?
“I like my character (Judge Danforth) because he’s a very realistic villain. He has this very….well-defined idea of what he wants and doesn’t want, as well as what he believes in. It makes it almost easier to relate to him, because… he’s a less complex character. I love him for that, because you can always say, ‘this is what he wants, and he’s not cutting corners about it’; he’s very obvious about what he wants.”
Are there any personal challenges that you have encountered this year?
“Because he’s the head judge, Danforth is a very authoritative character. He’s very imposing; he has to fill the room. Which is something that I am admittedly not very used to. I really have to have great posture and stick my chest out. It’s very different from my role from last year, which was a little, scheming old man.”
What are you most excited for?
“I’m excited about progressing to the first full run-through of the play, because I feel like it’s just chaos when everyone’s still learning their lines; we keep breaking off into groups to do our parts. Once you see it all together, it’s just beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing to see the play finally working.”
Jamie Barnett: Giles Corey
Could you briefly describe your role in The Crucible?
“I am described as a canny, muscular, 83 year-old, who has been to court 33 times in his life, enjoys going on long rambles, and is good friends with the male lead, John Proctor.”
Is there anything you like or dislike about your role this year?
“I really do like my character. I certainly wasn’t expecting to get him, but I am very happy that I did. He is the comedic character in the play, and even if he isn’t the biggest part, he does have some of the best lines. I don’t so much dislike him as I find it hard to get into the vibe of playing an 83-year-old, muscular man, but it’s a fun challenge.”
Should the audience expect any differences from the original version?
“There may be. I do think when Arthur Miller wrote it, it was meant to symbolize McCarthyism, thus making it a furious and stiff play. Even though The Crucible will be a lot more serious than some of our previous plays, I do think there’s going to be a more lively aspect to it. It’s not going to be as stiff and unfeeling.”
Ms. Penney: The Director
What inspired you to pick The Crucible for this year’s play?
“I almost didn’t pick it, but then Mr. Henry kind of talked me into it. I kind of realized that it was a really good fit for the students. We not only have a lot of talented people, but we also have a lot of smart people. I’m not saying that in past years we haven’t had smart people, but I feel like this year we’re ready for a challenge. Since I’ve been here, we haven’t done a “tragedy,” so it just felt like the right moment. Plus, the show was kind of weighing on me in a political way. Donald Trump calls things a “witch hunt,” whether or not it’s an actual witch hunt. I’ve taught The Crucible before, but I wanted to truly know what a witch hunt actually looked like.”
What would attract people to watch The Crucible?
“I think a lot of people are very familiar with The Crucible because they (might) have read it in school. I’m not setting it traditionally, because I’m not personally interested in the Puritan period; it turns a lot of people off, that’s just the way it is. I think even though it is a tragedy, it’s really easy to think “we’re gonna go watch a bunch of sad, sack people doing some intense stuff,” which there definitely is, but I’m not gonna say that there’s a lot of opportunity for humor. But our version is going to find the ridiculousness that actually exists within the words, and I’m really interested in exploring hysteria, so if you want to come see hysterical hysteria, come!”
Are there any differences from the original?
“Yes! I’ve recently seen a production of this, where they set it in this ambiguous 90s era… and there’s this veiled connection to the McCarthy era. So, I’m setting it anywhere between the 30s and 50s in America. We’re also exploring Appalachia. I think there’s something within the Mountain Lakes community, and a lot of us may not understand what poverty is because of this community.”
If you want to bear witness to a bewitching adaptation of an American classic, come see The Crucible on November 21st, 22nd, and 23rd!
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