Review: "The Crucible", Otterbein Department of Theatre And Dance

  The Bible tells us,  “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven”.   All the characters in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” seem to break those rules to one degree or another, whether it is judging each other or judging themselves.

   “The Crucible” is a fictional dramatization of circumstances surrounding the Massachusetts Bay Colony Salem witch trials circa 1692.  The piece was intended as an allegory about McCarthyism and the merciless Congressional inquiries that led to condemnation and blacklisting of alleged communists living in the U.S. following WW II.  Miller himself is credited with having been questioned by McCarthy’s House Committee on Un-American activities three years after “The Crucible” saw its first staging.

   The original Broadway production of “The Crucible” premiered in 1953 and featured E.G. Marshall, Beatrice Straight and Madeline Sherwood.  The reviews for it were intensely negative.  Miller himself believed that the production was a little too stylized and cold.  Despite sparse attendance and bad reviews from everybody but the New York Times, the production won a Tony award for best play.

   A different, more popular production was mounted a year later and the play became a classic in American Theatre literature.

   The current production of this massive opus from Otterbein University Department of Theatre and Dance features a strong ensemble cast.  

    Compelling performances from seniors Connor Allston as John Proctor and Maddy Loehr as his wife Elizabeth provide this show with its heart and soul.  Their passion, commitment, and strong expressions in many emotions, take the audience on a roller coaster ride.  Proctor’s lechery with the servant, Abigail Williams (Asel Swango), leads to Abigail’s dismissal from the household.  Abigail is a trouble-twisted personality whose self-centered excesses cause her to lead several gullible young girls into dancing, fake swooning and false accusations against family members, neighbors and friends. Abigail mesmerizes her followers with her lies, treacheries and deceit.  Swango’s strong performance mesmerizes the audience, as she becomes that character that we love to hate.

    Steven Meeker (Reverend Samuel Parris), Evan Moore-Coll (Deputy Governor Danforth) and Benjamin Folts (Reverend John Hale) pepper their performances with all flavors of self-righteous, self-serving judgments.  Folts demonstrates many credible levels of characterization as we watch his transitions from sanctimonious through wavering among options and finally repenting and seeing the good in those that he would have condemned.

    The whirlwinds of emotional turmoil subside for a moment when Elizabeth and John say their tender good-byes.  This scene had me blinking back tears. Then John faces down the tribunal and desperately pleads for his life and his family’s good name.  

   A few comic relief moments get sprinkled throughout the show in the person of Constable John Willard (Sileye Ndongo) who drinks, stumbles and is mocked by the servant Tituba (Kathryn Lee) and Sarah Good (Alissa Dellork).

    Director Melissa Lusher has done masterful work in providing all 20 characters with memorable moments in this gripping saga.  Her emphasis on clear, crisp line delivery drives the action, giving the audience little opportunity to breathe, though the running time stretches to 2 hours and 45 minutes with the intermission.

   This piece was obviously designed to be performed in a proscenium setting.  Staging it in the campus center arena space presents some interesting challenges.  Scenic designer Stephanie Gerckens’ platforms, ropes and symbols of ropes achieve interesting levels, as does the delivery of key moments from the aisles.   Sparse set pieces, minimal props and furnishings aid in maximizing space for actors to move.  It seemed a powerful choice to have Governor Danforth conduct trial interrogations from various positions on the aisle.  I was seated in a location that allowed me to see most of his movements, gestures and facial expressions.  I would not be so complimentary had I been seated in a location that obstructed my view, as was a third to a half of the audience in various moments.

   Julia Ferreri’s costumes seem to capture the spirit of the Salem era, save for the breast pocket streaks of red.  I understand that this was intended to carry through with the rope décor theme that dominated the set, but people of that era would not have worn clothing with that kind of decoration. 

   The lighting design from T. J. Gerckens enhances the action, keeping the central characters in focus, shades for background characters and character and haunting shadow for eerie moments.

   While there is nothing joyful about the themes and messages in “The Crucible” or in any of Arthur Miller’s other works, his deft exploration of human psychology continues to attract attention and acclaim.  We are magnetically drawn to the strengths and weaknesses of his characters.

    Otterbein’s current offering does a masterful job of delivering the power and punch of what it means to become embroiled in the mindless reactiveness of an hysterical mass-consciousness.  It is a timeless theme that is constantly replayed by non-thinking, overly emotional, self-centered human beings, as evidenced by people’s attitudes and behaviors toward the contemporary social, economic and political scene.