‘THE CRUCIBLE’
Arthur Miller’s classic play resonates in the modern world
Several decades have passed, but Scott Harrison still remembers how he felt visiting Salem, Mass., on a family trip when he was a kid. What has still stuck with him after nearly 50 years, he says, was seeing the life-size dioramas depicting the then-colony’s Salem Witch Trials of 1692, during which hundreds were accused of witchcraft and about 20 were executed.
“I still remember as a six-year-old being fascinated and horrified at the same time, wondering how something like this would come about,” he said.
Harrison, founder and artistic director of Ironweed Productions, is now staging 1953’s “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller’s classic, semi- fictional play about the infamous trials and executions. Shows begin on Thursday, in time for Halloween, and will run through mid-November.
Playwright Miller used the themes of a community’s hysteria, intolerance rooted in fear of the unknown and searching for scapegoats in “witches” as an allegory for post-World War II McCarthyism, the era’s fear of communism infiltrating the U.S.
Harrison actually made the decision to stage the play early last year because of its scary, suspenseful narrative, he notes, before the country’s current “political craziness” fully emerged.
But he said the story of Salem has parallels to what’s going on now, including tensions between political parties and the fear of speaking the truth when everyone else is “assuming a different truth.”
“Fear can take root among any group, whether it’s liberals, conservatives, different cultural groups, within a school (or) within a family,” he said. “Instead of embracing the unknown and uncertainty, people feel like they need answers, when embracing the uncertainty would be the most healthy course.”
Several members of the cast of “The Crucible” also mentioned the timeliness of the production. Steven Berrier, who plays the Rev. Samuel Parris, said Salem represents a community that crumbles when residents look out for only themselves rather than each other, which he says still happens today. He also said the story has relevance to current political issues like antiimmigrant rhetoric.
But Harrison says the tragic play has an ultimately positive message of standing for one’s integrity despite outside factors. He cited the main
character, John Proctor, refusing to confess to witchcraft and defending the accused, even when it means his own demise. Todd Anderson, the local actor playing Proctor, said despite the character’s flaws, the man’s desire for truth and justice personally resonates with him.
The play follows the colonists either accused or aiding in the ongoing witch-hunt for various, self-centered reasons. Abigail Williams, who is ostracized after an affair with Proctor, is one of several young girls initially accused of witchcraft after the couple is caught out in the woods alone. She later falsely accuses several other people of the crime, starting a downward spiral of accusations, convictions and hangings. The characters convicting the colonists eventually realize what they’re doing is wrong, but they feel they are in too deep and will not admit it.
“It’s a scary and also juicy thing as an actor to accept, that this is in us, these kinds of reactions,” said Tara Khozein, who plays Abigail. She describes the play’s antagonist as not an evil girl, but rather someone who has been hurt throughout her life and on some level thinks she is doing the right thing.
“What Miller has done in this play is find the logic between Point A and Point Z,” she said, “that we as humans are capable of doing these amazingly damaging things out of self-interest, fear or a whacked-out idea of love.”
The play also stars Kate Kita, Danielle Reddick, Nicholas Ballas, Hania Stocker and several other actors ranging from New Mexico School for the Arts students to seasoned theater veterans. Shows continue Thursday-Sunday until Nov. 12.