The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Direction by
Maria Provenzano & Nick Sala
The Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, amid the chaos of the infamous witch trials. After the Reverend Samuel Parris catches his daughter, Betty, dancing with her friends in the woods, she faints and becomes deathly ill. Meanwhile, the Reverend's niece, Abigail, has had an affair with John Proctor, a farmer. When he refuses to confess his love for her, Abigail tells the authorities that people in the town are witches, including John's wife. In the end, John and others are wrongly executed for being witches.
The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in American history surrounding the Salem Witch Trials of the seventeenth century. Yet, it is as much a story of the time in which Miller wrote it (the early 1950s, and the “Red Scare” that dominated the period) as it is a description of Puritan society. At its core, the play deals with morality vs. self-preservation and shows the lengths to which people will go to obtain power, avenge a prior wrong and/or avoid persecution. Its themes of conformity vs. dissent and community vs. individuation remain as relevant today as they were in 1692.
Friday, September 9 @ 7:30 p.m. &
Saturday, September 10 @ 1:00 p.m.
@ GRACE HALL, 116 CITY ISLAND AVENUE
SEEKING
John Proctor - (30’s) A farmer in Salem, Proctor serves as the voice of reason and justice in The Crucible. It is he who exposes the girls as frauds who are only pretending that there is witchcraft, and thus becomes the tragic hero of the tale. He is a man of the land.
Elizabeth Proctor – (30’s) the wife of John Proctor, Elizabeth shares with John a similarly strict adherence to justice and moral principles However, Elizabeth can be a cold and demanding woman, with a chilly demeanor.
Abigail Williams - A seventeen year-old girl who is the niece of Reverend Parris, Abigail was the Proctors' servant before Elizabeth fired her for having an affair with John. She is a malicious, vengeful girl who, in an attempt to protect herself from punishment after Reverend Parris finds them dancing, instigates the Salem witch trials and leads the charge of accusations
Reverend Samuel Parris (late 40’ - 50’s) – The minister of Salem’s church. He is Paranoid and power hungry. Many people in the town don’t like him and his style of preaching. He is the father of Betty Parris.
Betty Parris (Early teens) Becomes ill when her father catches her dancing in the forest with the other girls. This illness fuels the rumors of witchcraft.
Tituba (late 30’s – early 50’s) Rev Parris’s black slave from Barbados. She agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request. She is the first person accused of witchcraft.
Reverend John Hale (early 40’s) a scholar from Beverly. He comes to Salem at the request of Rev Parris. He is an expert of the supernatural.
Francis Nurse (late 60’s – early 70’s) The husband of Rebecca Nurse. He is a well respected land-owner in Salem. He stands up to the court and the charges of witchcraft.
Rebecca Nurse (late 60’s – early 70’s) One of the most noble and well-respected women in Salem. She is pure good yet accused of witchcraft.
Thomas Putman (50’s) A wealthy landowner is Salem. He is disliked by many of the people in Salem. He benefits from people being hanged, he can by their land. His daughter was also dancing in the forest with Abigail.
Ann Putnam (40’s) The wife of Thomas Putnam, Ann suspects that there is some paranormal reason for the stillborn deaths of seven of her children and blames Rebecca Nurse.
Giles Corey (late 60’s – 70’s) An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem. He is a comic figure in the play. Things turn tragic when his wife is accused of being a witch. He is a moral man who does not back down or give in.
Mary Warren (late teens) The eighteen year-old servant in the Proctor household, Mary is one of the girls found dancing in the woods and is complicit in Abigail Williams' schemes. Although weak and tentative, she challenges the Proctors when they forbid her to go to court. Mary should be vulnerable.
Mercy Lewis (late teens) Part of Abigail’s group. She is sly and merciless.
Susanna Wallcott (late teens) also caught dancing in the woods. She is a confidant of Abigail’s.
Judge Hathorne (50’s – 60’s) judge who presides over the Salem witch trials. He remains largely subservient to Deputy Governor Danforth, but applies the same tortured reasoning to charges of witchcraft.
Deputy Governor Danforth (late 50’s – 60’s) The deputy governor of Massachusetts presides over the Salem witch trials. He is a stern yet practical man more interested in preserving the dignity and stature of the court than in executing justice or behaving with any sense of fairness.
Ezekiel Cheever (20’s) Ezekiel is a clerk of the court who serves the arrest warrants to the persons charged with witchcraft. He takes his job very seriously.
Sarah Good (40’s – 50’s) One of the first women charged with witchery by the girls, she is a homeless woman who confesses to witchcraft to save herself.
Hopkins (20’s – 30’s) One of the guards at the jail.
Performance Dates Are:
11/4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 @ 8:00 p.m. & 11/6, 13 @ 3:00 p.m.
For more info email: auditions@cityislandtheatergroup.com