THE CRUCIBLE: It’s the Greatest Witch Hunt in History!
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a partly-fictionalized allegory based on the 1692 witch trials in colonial Salem, Massachusetts. The subject of the play is the paranoia and persecution that came out of the so-called “Witch Hunts” undertaken by the American House of Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. They were trying to unearth Communists that were supposedly overtaking every corner of American Society.
The Crucible plays in the handsome, theatrically harmonious and adaptable 120-seat Theatre Lab of MacEwan University through Feb. 8.
It doesn’t take director Jim Guedo long to command your attention. The theatre goes dark and a high decibel infernal scream bursts forth as huge looming wooden beams descend from the flies and then split in the middle to form a peaked roof.
The playwright has fashioned a high drama with Grecian elements of fate, inevitability and human frailty – with a moving personal tragedy at the core. The characters are drawn grandly, and demand a wide, almost operatic reach from the actors.
This is a college production and your first thought is that they are awfully young to play the fearful but stolid burghers of 17th Century New England. But it doesn’t take long for the complete commitment of this large company of 25 to set aside that thought. No doubt through their own obvious and innate talent, and the efforts of their director and teacher, the performances are intense and mature. Their age evaporates as they disappear into the roles. In fact, what a good idea it is for the Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts program to present this play. Who better than young people to understand the dynamics of the adolescent peer pressure that lies at the centre of Miller’s work? There is both mind and heart at work here.
The plot revolves around the mass frenzy that plagued Salem and split the town into those who used the trials for their own ends and those who desire the good of the society. At the time, the town was a life-denying puritan theocracy whose laws were dictated by Biblical scripture, but interpreted by human beings with human failings. Reverend Parris (Brett Williams) discovers that his daughter and a group of her friends have been dancing naked in the woods. He calls in the well-known local witch expert Reverend Hale (Travis Schulte) to investigate his suspicion of witchcraft. We meet the upright local farmer John Proctor (Evan Makowecki) ) who admits to his wife Elizabeth (Abigail Laforest) that he had an affair with the teenage Abigail (Maya Baker). In her misdirected rage, Abigail then accuses Elizabeth of being a witch.
When officials from the court arrive to arrest Elizabeth, Proctor realizes he can no longer stand by and not act. At the trial, he attempts to oppose the witchcraft accusations against Abigail and her coven of hysterical teens, but is not believed. In a chilling forecast of what we have been watching recently on TV, the judges decided it is better to compound the crime than to admit they made mistakes. Proctor must make a moral choice which brings on the inevitable and wrenching climax.
SPOILER: It doesn’t end well.
The women here have little power, but have discovered how to use the power of fear to control those around them. Baker’s Abigail is a conniving and manipulative avenging angel, and this fine young actor gives the tortured child an impressive degree of complexity. Her coven of the possessed are particularly chilling – jerking about the stage in convincing feigned hysteria. They are obviously enjoying working the frightened townsfolk, and there is a madness in their eyes.
Makowecki’s Proctor is a stubborn fellow and the actor gives the character a convincing journey to self-understanding. He may be broken but at the end he stands tall and you want to cheer.
Schulte’s Reverend Hale demonstrates some nuance and a major character development as he changes from believer in the dark forces, to demanding a hearing for the accused. Sweetie Lakou registers strongly as Tituba the Bahamian maid who leads the girls on their ill-fated forest bacchanal. Particularly effective is Carson Walliser as he unbending Deputy Governor Danforth, bringing an icy resolve and a flexible morality to his character. Also of note is Chelo Ledesma as Mary, an unfortunate participant in the midnight revels, who is unraveled by the merciless court of the inquisitors. Laforest gives the loyal wife a proper degree of dignity, depth and understanding.
These young performers give a modern resonance to their performances. The Crucible is much more than a simple history lesson but a political play with far reaching parallels that demonstrates once again that false denunciation, rumour and corruption is not an historical anomaly.
