REVIEW: A Night in Salem with The Crucible
Photos by Rachel DeLong
“We were riveted to the changing fortunes of the accused and still somehow surprised by the ease with which wild accusations can take hold in a seemingly intelligent society.”
R’ville Stage Creations' production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible draws the town together to ask: How are we bound together? What do we value? How are we going to live together? The house was full in the beautiful assembly room at Conkling Hall. There were delicious iced carrot cookies at the concession stand and the stage was filled with 21 citizen actors.
The production only played for three performances from 4/25-4/27, so this review is offered as an appreciation for their efforts, some notes for their edification and an enthusiastic invitation to those who missed this fine production to audition for their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream going up 7/11-7/13 at Hilltown Commons.
Since its debut in 1953, The Crucible has proven itself to be one of the most popular American classic plays for schools, community groups and professional companies ranging from regional theatres to Broadway to internationally (London’s National Theatre staged a highly acclaimed production in 2022 which is currently streaming on National Theatre at Home). There is currently a play selling out on Broadway responding to Arthur Miller’s, plainly called John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Bellflower.
The play is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials, which Miller used as a metaphor for the McCarthy Hearings of ‘53 and ‘54. The hearings sought to cast out communists from government positions by calling witnesses to testify and name names of those they had attended Communist Party meetings with.
In 1692, a group of girls had been out dancing in the woods with Tituba (a restrained but sincere Avinash Lekram), an enslaved woman who is the house servant to Reverend Samuel Parris (full voice, commanding Sean Allison) when the good Reverend jumped out and scared them, sending his daughter to bed in a comatose state.
Suspicions and questions abound. What were the girls doing dancing in the woods? Was someone naked? Was there a frog in the stew? What ails Betty Parris (Lyra Rosenblatt)? Reverend Parris calls on Reverend Hale, a divinity expert from Harvard; Caroline Cunningham shows up playing the man. Hale undergoes the greatest change in the play, Cunningham displaying his stirring conviction and growing doubts as the story goes on.
The opening scene at the Parrises’ establishes the setting, the tone and atmosphere (helped out by tree cutouts framing the stage by set designer Sean McCormick and a new haze machine which was frankly overused but effective in the opening scenes of each act) and introduces us to the many characters in the parish.
There were many amplification problems in the opening scene. The choice of using microphones in this high ceilinged, smallish meeting room auditorium is debatable. Probably 75% of the cast had no need for the amplification and actually spoke over it and those who did need the amplification leaned on it and perhaps their performances even receded. Projection is not just what happens vocally – the energy needed to fill the room with your voice is also needed to physically get your performance over the footlights. There were more than a couple of performers who were too small for the stage and were actively hiding vocally or behind their hair so you couldn’t see their eyes or they were hunched defensively and I couldn’t see faces.
John Proctor was given a strong, persuasive reading by Austin Withers. Meara McTeague does what she can with poor Elizabeth Proctor. Caitlin Van Loan has a nice turn as Abigail Williams. Rachel DeLong is no nonsense direct in her accusations as Ann Putnam. The inscrutable Claire Schelling has a lot of fun as Mary Warren and I found myself constantly checking in on her to see what she was up to. The long second act is enlivened by the arrival of the great voiced and wigged judges Hathorne (Ross Louie) and Deputy-Governor Danforth (Christopher Thorne). Necessity also provides treasures such as Michele Galea Bertelle playing Giles Corey with irresistible contrariness.
The court dynamics, familiarity, small town gossip and backbiting in the play meshed well in this small, rural playhouse and it felt like everyone had a stake in the outcome. We were riveted to the changing fortunes of the accused and still somehow surprised by the ease with which wild accusations can take hold in a seemingly intelligent society. The play was vitally alive with many lines taking on an added significance which garnered vocal reactions: “The pure in heart have no need for a lawyer.”
Director Tara McCormick Hostash has a commanding sense of the stage and how to use the space and her cast to tell the story. I’m looking forward to my next trip to this Helderberg hill town and seeing the whole acting community grow with the confidence of the standing ovations they received this weekend. Well done.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream auditions take place Monday, 5/5 and Wednesday, 5/7.
Audition form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekojRzFpCFTFcv7-RX64H6V3LTbaLhy2m4owkLgPvYUoGH9A/viewform
