McKenzie Greenwood, Raine Bertoldie, and Robert Coppage III in The Crucible (Phoenix/Arts Asylum)
The Arts Asylum cites as part of its mission a commitment both to fostering new, inclusive works, as well as “reimagining classics and theatre staples through the lens of our collective.” I was surprised, then, by their current production of The Crucible. Far from being a reimagining, Arts Asylum and its new resident theater company Phoenix have presented a straightforward, faithful interpretation of Arthur Miller’s modern classic, and done a fine job of it.
The setting of The Crucible, directed by Ryan Fortney, is slightly ambiguous. There is no set beyond a long, narrow platform in back, running the length of the stage, and some bare-bones furniture pieces. The costumes are modern, with the men mostly decked in New England sweaters. The women, for the most part, wear simple, dark dresses with a timeless formality to them that hints at a strong religious influence. Still, the design is simple enough that we can also imagine the play is still set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, as Arthur Miller wrote it. The political parallels between the witch trials of the 1600s, 1950s McCarthyism that inspired Miller, and far too much of our current climate are strong enough that it doesn’t take much suspension of disbelief to think we could be watching all three eras play out at once.
In The Crucible, the first domino to get knocked over that leads to the downfall of an entire community is a group of girls letting loose in the woods. When the girls are spotted dancing naked in the woods late at night, their ringleader, Abigail (McKenzie Greenwood), claims to have been forced by the devil to give herself over to him. The only way she saw out of accusations of witchcraft was to dive into them head-on.
This decision sets off a chain of events involving neighbors accusing each other of witchcraft en masse. If some of those claims happen to benefit the accusers, either in money, land, or vengeance, well, I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.
One such accusation comes from Abigail herself. The young girl is enraged after the farmer John Proctor (Robert E. Coppage III) insists that the affair they’ve been having is over for good. Abigail has his wife, Elizabeth (Erika Crane Ricketts), jailed, planting evidence in her home as “proof” that Elizabeth has been attacking her via witchcraft. As one neighbor after another falls, the teen girls—a group so often underestimated, disparaged, and dismissed—are only further emboldened by their new power.
The Crucible is the first production from Phoenix in their new role as Arts Asylum’s new resident theatre company. It’s not as inventive as their recent Grapes of Wrath, choosing instead to keep things simple and put Miller’s script front and center. The result is a solid, if rather by-the-book presentation of a classic, grounded by some especially striking performances.
The show does get off to a bit of a bumpy start. The first scene is long and large, with nearly the entire cast filtering through. For the first chunk of the play, many characters feel undefined, their motivations vague, but things settle in when we move to a more intimate scene in the Proctors’ house, and the show then maintains its drive until the end.
Coppage plays Proctor with a surprising and effective gentleness not often seen in the role. (To an extent—this is still a man who will scream at his wife over his own infidelity.) Ricketts is a wonderful Elizabeth, harnessing the character’s complexities and beautifully balancing her piousness with compassion.
The gang of girls is kept small but they are still a terrifying force, especially Greenwood’s vengeful Abigail. Veronica Wright is a marvel as Mary Warren, who is convinced to speak out against Abigail and the others. At only 15 years old (younger than her character by three years), her age amplifies her vulnerability as she is pressured and manipulated from all sides, from her peers as well as the adults around her.
Special recognition is also due to Raine Bertoldie as Reverend Hale, who has perhaps the most transformative arc in the whole show. Starting off with a single-minded dedication to “truth,” by the time Hale realizes he has not only been deceived by a corrupt system, but aided in its destruction, it’s far too late to do anything but watch in horror as so many good people are ruined.
The Crucible is one of those plays that, despite its prominent place in the pantheon of American theatre, many people only have high school memories of the work. This faithful mounting is a worthy introduction or re-introduction to the modern classic.
“The Crucible,” a Phoenix production, runs through November 23 at the Arts Asylum, 824 E. Meyer Blvd. For more information, visit www.theartsasylum.org.
Like this:
Like Loading…