Theater Ink’s The Crucible brought Salem’s dark history to Lasker Auditorium Thursday, Oct. 31 to Saturday, Nov. 2. Directed by English teacher Valerie Young, the production simultaneously chilled audiences and forced viewers to reflect on American history.
Written in 1953 by American playwright Arthur Miller during the Red Scare in the U.S. government, the play served as a cautionary tale against mass manipulation and hysteria. The production’s original audience would have compared the portrayal of the Salem witch trials to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s hunt for communists in America at the beginning of the Cold War.
“I think the timeliness of the play, given the unfortunate things that are happening in our country, maybe can, in our community, help us to reflect on where we are,” said Young.
The play began with an enthralling scene featuring Tituba, played by junior Apolline Naud, dancing mysteriously in the woods with a few of the other Salem girls. As they chant and sway around, lights flash and suddenly Betty Parris, played by senior Margaret Chalom, falls unconscious.
Following the incident, the townspeople immediately grow suspicious of witchcraft, as Betty’s symptoms seem like the work of the devil.
In one scene, a frenzy begins where many of the people start to make claims of who they saw with the devil. As the tension increases and more accusations are thrown out, even Betty momentarily awakens from her coma-like state to contribute to the chaos, eliciting many shocked reactions.
Though the entirety of Salem seems to be in disarray, one man named John Proctor, played by senior Orlando Christian, is skeptical of the claims of supernatural forces, and aims to uncover the truth while avoiding his past mistress Abigail Williams, played by senior Rhiannon Esposito.
Esposito delivered a stand-out performance as Abigail, leaving the crowd entirely convinced of the hysteria their character urged among the townspeople. Towards the end of the play, Abigail manipulates the entire courtroom into doubting the testimony of Mary, played by Junior Bel Shaw, by dramatically mimicking her and pretending to be utterly tormented by her “witchcraft.” The intensity of the scene left viewers on the edge of their seats.
“The show pushed me out of my comfort zone in a really powerful way,” said Esposito. “I got to spend so much time embodying my character, which was pretty intense at times because there is so much power in the story we are conveying.”
Putting on such an elaborate performance in only six weeks is proof of the dedication and passion of the entire cast and crew within Theatre Ink.
“It’s been such a pleasure to see the fruits of our labor in the end, and all of us have grown so much throughout the process,” said senior Aine Carey, a member of the cast.